Written in the Stars: Rise of the Doppelganger
by mayghaen17
Summary: Vampires have taken over and humans are being hunted to extinction. Their only hope rests in the Doppelganger whose coming was foretold in an ancient prophecy to lead the human revolution and take back what was theirs.
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: Okay guys, I know I said I was done writing Delena for awhile, but I guess I lied because this idea popped into my head and I liked it too much to leave it alone. It came from thinking about the movie Daybreakers so I might be pulling inspiration from there, but for the most part, it's all original. So just like the movie, the vampires have pretty much taken over and humans are becoming harder and harder to find. They are basically becoming extinct. There will be a synthetic blood on the market, but materials to make it will start to go through shortages.**

**I will be explaining things along the way and I'll try to keep the relationships as close to the show as I can, but no promises. So far, I'm loving Stefan being all blood thirsty and evil-ish, so I'll be keeping him that way. The next chapter explains the original love triangle and goes more into the background of the world that they all live in.**

**I know my summary is a little vague, but it's completely on purpose. I have an idea of where I'm going, but you'll be finding out along the way with me :) I'm going to keep you guessing throughout. As always, feel free to message me if you have any questions or concerns. **I'll be writing this and Of Different Worlds (Tyler/Elena) once I finish Fighting Fate and Written in Blood. Right now, I'm leaving you with just a taste of what's to come so enjoy!******  
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><span>ONE: Twenty Years Ago<span>

He could smell the fear in the air. It was his favorite scent next to that of fresh blood. It drove him forward, sending his predatory nature into high gear as he followed the scent. It led him to a row of abandoned buildings where humans were known for hiding. He slowed down as he rounded the corner, the scent having led him to one building in particular. Cautiously, he moved forward, and just as his hand touched the door, he felt the air stir and the next thing he knew, he was flying backwards. He grunted as he crashed into the metal siding of a wall. He got to his feet quickly, looking for his assailant only to be pushed forward. He listened carefully and before the next strike, he was able to grab his attacker and toss them away. Surprise washed over him as he recognized the blonde in front of him.

"Lexi?"

"Get out of here, Damon. I'm warning you."

Damon slowly stood up straight, holding his hands out in a mock surrender. "What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes, but remained in an attack ready stance. "What do you think I'm doing here?"

"Why do you insist on helping the humans when you know as well as I that it's no good?"

"Because someone has to. If your precious queen lets things continue this way, the humans will be wiped out within a few years. What do you think will happen to us then, huh? What will we do without human blood?"

"I thought you didn't drink from humans?"

"I don't feed to kill," she answered flatly. "So I ask again, what are you doing here?"

"Katherine sent me as a scout. She and a few others aren't far behind me." He sighed as he looked around, using his advanced senses to hear anything. "If you and your group go now you might be able to hide from them."

That was enough to make Lexi relax. She tipped her head to the side, her eyes narrowed as she studied him. "You're helping me?"

"I'm helping Stefan," he corrected weakly. Lexi's face hardened at the mention of his brother's name. "If Katherine finds you here, she'll destroy you. I know things didn't turn out as you would have hoped, but he still cares about you." He shrugged. "That, and I really don't want to hear him whine about your death for eternity."

Her lips twitched into a brief smile only to be wiped away by a third voice. "Lexi? What's-"

"I told you to wait inside!" she snapped at the group that emerged from the building Damon had been about to enter.

Damon looked at the man and woman that had approached Lexi, desperation and fear in their eyes as they saw Damon. He admired the way they stood their ground even with him near. Then he noticed the other man in the back, holding a bundle in his arms. From the way he was holding it, Damon could only assume that it was a baby. It was then that he realized Lexi was giving the humans instructions and he tuned in at the tail end of it.

"How long before Katherine arrives?"

"Not long," he replied.

"Okay, let's move. Plan C," Lexi ordered. As she waited for the humans to move, she turned to look at Damon. "Thank you for this."

"I'll tell Stefan you're well."

It was then that a scream pierced through the air. Lexi was gone from his sight in the blink of an eye and Damon had no choice but to follow. When he arrived around the corner, one of Katherine's other scouts had caught the black haired woman and had bit into her neck. Before Damon could react, the man not holding the baby fired a crossbow and took the other vampire out.

"Go!" Lexi shouted at the rest of the group, already well ahead of Damon and the bleeding girl.

"Isobel!" the man with the baby cried.

Lexi blocked him as he tried to backtrack. "They need to get out of here," Damon warned having felt Katherine's presence very close. "Now!" he hissed.

Lexi never looked back as she wrestled with the man and eventually led him and the other human out of sight. Whether or not they escaped safely was beyond Damon's immediate knowledge. Less than a minute later, Stefan and a few other of Katherine's most trusted scouts appeared in the alley. "They went that way," Damon said, pointing in the opposite direction. Stefan nodded and took off, signaling for the others to fan out. Not one of them went in the direction Lexi had gone.

Alone, Damon pulled the girl into his lap and checked the extent of her wounds. She was bleeding badly and while it was extremely tempting, there was something about her that kept him from finishing what the other scout had started. "Isobel," he whispered, gently stroking the side of her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and they stared at him in pure fright. She looked around for an escape and tried, but Damon cornered her. "Don't make me kill you," he muttered, hoping she heard the sincerity in his voice.

Realizing that she had nowhere to go, that Damon would kill her if she tried to run, she leaned back against the wall and slumped down. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth while she sobbed. He knew the baby was probably hers and that that was the only thing going through her mind at the moment. There was nothing he could say to comfort her because he knew the chances of her survival were slim. If he did let her go, there was a great chance that another vampire would find her. She was safer with him, as absurd as that sounded.

Stefan was the first of the scouts to arrive back, a scowl on his blood stained lips. "They got away," he muttered, wiping the excess blood from his chin.

"But you caught some?" he asked.

"A few. They were weak and didn't put up much of a fight," he answered and then nodded in the direction of the woman. "And her?"

"She is not to be touched," came Katherine's voice from behind the brothers.

Stefan and Damon both stepped back to let her walk up to the girl. Damon saw the gleam in Katherine's eyes and the satisfied smirk as she approached. He wondered what on earth would keep Katherine from killing her, but he knew better than to question her. Stefan, however, could not contain his curiosity. "What's so special about this one?"

Katherine's brown eyes blazed with a triumph that Damon had never seen before. Unable to stop himself, his gaze returned to the girl that was staring up at them. Their eyes met and for a fleeting second, Damon had a feeling that he knew what Katherine was going to say next.

"This one's name is Isobel Flemming," Katherine said, lowering herself to the human's level.

"So?"

Katherine shot him a look and Damon swore to himself. One of these days, Katherine was going to rip his head off for his incessant questions. He scoffed at himself for that thought; he knew better than to think that Katherine would ever hurt her precious Stefan. Damon knew that if it weren't for their chemistry in bed that Katherine would have gotten rid of him a long time ago.

Katherine reached out and tilted Isobel's chin up so that she could look directly into her eyes. "Isobel Flemming is the name of my final living descendent," she announced, saying exactly what Damon thought she was going to.

"Are you sure?" Stefan asked.

Katherine scowled at him. "I have been tracking my descendants longer than you have been alive. Of course I know." She removed her hand from Isobel's face and stood up. "I told Klaus I would find them all. The prophecy can't come true if there's no blood relative of mine alive to produce a doppelganger."

Isobel's eyes met Damon's once again, full of fear, but this time, she was also silently begging for something. Damon returned her gaze before giving a curt nod. He wasn't going to say anything to Katherine about the baby that had gotten away. He looked away to see Stefan frowning. "What prophecy?"

"Shortly after Klaus made me his queen, a witch came forward. She claimed that one of my descendants would give birth to my doppelganger. That the child would be the one to lead an army of rebel humans and take back what was theirs." She shrugged as she looked back at Isobel. "Luckily, since I turned I had a fascination with tracking down my blood line. If I hadn't, I probably never would have found you."

"So every time you sent us out to scout, you were really looking for Isobel or one of your other descendants?" Damon asked before he could think twice about it.

"More or less. I always thought it would be a nice bonus if we found other humans," she added and looked at both brothers. "Speaking of, were there any others?"

Damon nodded. "There were others with Isobel, but Trey had gotten hold of her before I got here. One took a shot and killed him. I could only contain her."

She nodded and looked at Stefan. "We found a few more, but I don't believe they were from the group Damon saw. They were weak and had no weapons on them."

For a long moment, no one said anything as Katherine circled Isobel as if inspecting her like a cat toying with a mouse. Without any warning, the female vampire grabbed Isobel's arm and pulled her up. "Do you have any children?" she asked, using her compulsion.

Isobel blinked and then shook her head. "No," she answered, her voice hoarse. Katherine let go of her, satisfied with that answer and stepped back.

"Well, I can't just let you go; it's too risky, but I don't want to kill you either. You are family after all." After a moment, Katherine's eyes lit up as she made up her mind. "Damon, turn her and get her acquainted with the way things work around here. When she can handle herself, I want her to report to me," she demanded and then looked at Stefan. She beckoned him with a nod of her head and Damon tried to suppress the wave of jealousy that washed over him. In the blink of an eye, they were gone, leaving Damon alone with Isobel again.

"How were you able to lie to her?" Damon asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

With a shaky hand, Isobel reached into her pocket and pulled out a little pouch. Damon instantly knew it was vervain, but was surprised that he hadn't been able to smell it earlier. "It's weak, but strong enough to keep you out of our head," she answered.

He nodded and watched it fall from her shaking fingers to the ground at her feet. Tears flowed from the corners of her eyes and Damon knew what she wanted to ask. "I won't tell her," he promised. He had no idea what made him want to keep something like this from Katherine; at least not anything he was willing to admit at the moment.

"Thank you," she breathed, her eyes closing as she relaxed just a fraction.

"Katherine is going to keep you close, you'll have to completely forget about your human life."

Isobel nodded weakly. "I understand."

"Lexi is a good vampire. She will do whatever she can to keep them safe," he assured her as he slowly moved forward. "I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

She nodded again, tipping her head to the side. Damon leaned in and let his vampire instincts take over. The fresh blood trickled down his throat, satisfying the true thirst that he hadn't felt in a long time. As her heart slowed down, he forced himself to pull away and give her some of his blood. He gave her one last sad smile and snapped her neck, catching her as she fell. He laid her down on the ground and went in search of the humans Stefan had found earlier. After dragging the bodies to her, he sat and waited. Before he knew it, she was awake and feeding, completing the transition and beginning her new life of eternity.


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: Alright, I finally managed to write something that I didn't hate :) yay! It's a little shorter than I would have liked, but oh well.**

**This chapter takes place 12 years after the first one. There will be a bit more set up in the next chapter and then full story from then on :) Enjoy!**

TWO

Damon pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut as he listened to Stefan and Katherine banter back and forth. They were sitting in Katherine's large suite as they all did from time to time at her request. It was her attempt to bring the old days back to life when she had them both wrapped around her finger. Now Damon only did it because he knew the consequences would be deadly for him. For the most part, Katherine left him alone and kept her attention focused on Stefan. Stefan was too enthralled by her every move to even care that Damon's attention was focused on the clock. It was these little chats that allowed him to reminisce about the past and wonder what his life would have been like if Katherine hadn't gotten her way.

She had come into their lives so suddenly that neither he nor Stefan had time to get to know the real Katherine before she sucked them into her world. They had grown up in world where respect was given to everyone you met for various reasons. Women had always been regarded as fragile creatures that needed to be taken care of, but Katherine came in and changed that notion.

For Damon, the attraction had always been physical. At first, they flirted heavily. Here she was, a gorgeous, proper lady using every single one of her assets to show Damon that she was anything but proper behind closed doors. He gave into her fairly easily and their chemistry together had gone unrivaled through time. Even now as he grew to resent her, the few times she did call on him, the heat between them had never dwindled. It was when he realized that Katherine had been showing Stefan her improper side too that Damon began to resent her. As the years went by, he realized the real reason he began to feel that way towards her was because she had ruined his relationship with his brother instead of him being jealous of her love for Stefan. To add insult to injury, she had taken Stefan's soul and crushed it, turning him into the vampire he had come to know. Just thinking about it brought Damon back to the conversation that had changed everything.

_Katherine played with the satin of her dress as she looked back and forth between the Salvatore brothers. Since she had told them both her secret, they had been even more fun to be around. "Vampires are the way of the future," she said, earning a sideways look from Damon and complete interest from Stefan._

_ "Why do you say that?" Damon asked._

_ "Because it's the truth. We're the ones that are going to last forever and it's only a matter of time before we make our presence known to the rest of the world. Werewolves are almost extinct and witches were never really big in numbers to begin with. One day, we are going to rule the world."_

_ "It makes sense," Stefan said, surprising Damon a little. "Vampires are strong and it would be foolish to hide behind all that power for the rest of eternity."_

_ "But what about the humans? If vampires outnumber the humans there won't be a source of food," Damon said, thinking that Katherine and Stefan were a little more than crazy to be talking about this._

_ Katherine gave him one of her signature grins, one that he knew to mean she had much more knowledge about this subject than she was going to share at this point in time. Instead, she gathered her skirts and got to her feet. "Trust me, Damon. This move will take time, but it will happen." She grinned and then turned her head to look at Stefan. "And both of you will be right by my side when it does."_

Damon snapped out of his memories when he realized Katherine and Stefan were staring at him. "I'm sorry, are we boring you?" Katherine asked in a tone that let him know she was offended.

"A little," he answered.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "We're just trying to have a nice lunch and you go off daydreaming. That's very rude Damon."

Damon bit back the urge to tell her that she was the rude one, but knew that the consequences weren't worth it. "My apologizes."

Katherine inclined her head in a stiff manner and then stood up. "Could you check on Isobel for me? She was supposed to report earlier, but never showed up."

Damon nodded as he got to his feet as well. "As you wish," he said and took his leave.

* * *

><p>As Damon approached Isobel's suite of rooms inside Klaus and Katherine's mansion, he could hear the moans of satisfaction from down the hall. It made him pause and roll his eyes. Ever since he had turned her twelve years ago, Isobel had had no problem settling into her new life style. She had become Katherine's close confidant and her right hand, giving her the privileges of having fresh donors whenever she saw fit. The only problem was that Damon would find her on a bender such as the one he knew she was in now and with humans being in short supply as it was, it was dangerous.<p>

More often than not, Damon tried not to see her when she was like this because it was a reminder of what he had done to her. He knew he hadn't had a choice, but it still bothered him occasionally. The main reason was due to the fact that she reminded Damon of himself at that stage and he always cringed when he remembered those days.

Damon shook himself and took a deep breath before finishing the distance to her door and letting himself in without knocking. A loud moan filled the air followed by a series of soft ones. Isobel sat up from the couch the moment the door closed, grinning at him with her fangs out and blood dripping down her chin. "Care to join us?"

"Tempting, but no," he replied.

Isobel pretended to pout before she got to her feet, pulling her donor up with her. She bit her wrist and gave him enough blood so that he would be fine on his way out. She blew a kiss as he left her suite, going back to the Keeper that was waiting at the bottom of the staircase. She then turned to Damon and grinned again as she sauntered over to him. "So you want me all to yourself then," she said in a low, seductive voice as she placed her hands on his chest.

"I'm here because Katherine wanted to know where you've been these last few days," he said, pushing her away from him. "You should know better than to make her wait for anything."

Isobel shrugged as she proceeded to clean up the excess blood on her face. "If I had something to report, I would. I think she sent you here to get rid of you."

It was true, but he was also worried about Isobel. She had been more and more absent from Katherine's presence lately. "Still, you're still new to her. If you start slacking off..." he let his voice trail off and shrugged. "Family or not, she'll have no problem taking your life."

The playfulness in Isobel's eyes went away and she sighed. "I know, it's just, she's been so into finding more and more humans..."

"Well, gorging isn't going to help the problem either."

Isobel nodded and offered a small smile. "I know I keep saying this, but thank you," she said, knowing that he would understand what she was referring to.

He inclined his head and moved to pull her into a hug. "The synthetic blood is well underway. In a few more years it will be ready and we wouldn't need to hunt humans to extinction. Lexi was with her; chances are she's still around. You have to trust that, okay?"

She nodded and pulled away from him. "I guess I should go see Katherine then."

"Please do. The last thing I need is getting on my case because of you."

She grinned and headed for the door. "What do you have planned?"

"I have some business to do," he answered and left it at that. They walked silently to the staircase and then parted ways with a knowing look exchanged between them.

* * *

><p>Damon knew the risks in coming here. This was a place where the vampires that disagreed with the way society evolved. They wanted things to go back to the way they were before the vampires took over. If the wrong person saw him, Katherine would waste now time in ending his undead life. As he entered, the few people inside looked at him for only a moment before turning back to what they were doing. They were so used to his presence that no one paid attention for long. He headed for the back where his informant would be waiting for him.<p>

"Damon," she greeted as she opened the door and stepped back to let her in to a private room.

"Anna," he returned as she shut the door behind him.

"I'm glad you got my message. This is something that I thought you would want to know about first."

"What is it?" he asked, taking a seat on the couch.

"I was told that there is a human colony on the outskirts of town."

Damon frowned. He and Stefan had detailed the surrounding areas many times and had only found a few stragglers every once in awhile. "Where?"

Anna grinned as if she were about to share a juicy secret. "That's just it. The humans must have witches with them because my informant wasn't able to detect a thing until he saw some humans come out of nowhere and begin to talk."

"How many humans?" Damon asked, sensing that she had chosen the word colony for a reason.

"Hundreds," she answered. "If not thousands."

Damon's eyes went wide in surprise and disbelief. "How is that possible?"

"Like I said, they must have witches with them for us to not have noticed. For Katherine and Klaus to not have noticed, the witches must be strong and plentiful."

"And your informant?"

"Dead like you asked. No one knows about this but you and I."

Damon inclined his head in satisfaction. It was one of the reasons he liked working with Anna. She did as he asked and only spoke to him about things like this. She began to fill him in on where exactly to look and he began to imagine what he would find. "Thanks Anna."

She nodded. "You're welcome. Just be careful, Damon."

"I will," he replied and got up to take his leave. It was time to find the hidden human colony and see what was really going on under Katherine's nose.


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: Sorry to keep you guys waiting! This chapter is a little shorter than I would have liked, but at least the prelude stuff is over after this one :)**

THREE

As Damon approached the location Anna had disclosed to him, he could sense something in the air. There was something about the place that unless one was familiar with witches, they wouldn't think something was off at all. Damon, having been one of Katherine's right hands for so long knew exactly what kind of trace magic left and knew that that was exactly what was going on here. Sure enough, the closer he got, the more he could feel it and the more he was having trouble continuing on. It was almost as if there was something pushing him back. To avoid it, Damon used his supernatural speed and got through the spelled barrier only to be completely shocked at the scene that unfolded before him.

There were more humans than Damon had seen in centuries. The scent of blood filled his nose and the sound of live, healthy human hearts pounded in his ears. It was surreal to him to see this many people in one place. In fact, their hiding place reminded him of the towns that had once been. There seemed to be shops where goods could be bought, sold, and bartered; blacksmiths, and just about any other trade. As Damon made his way around, being sure to stay out of sight, he noticed that there was more than just humans here. There were a lot of vampires and other supernatural beings such as werewolves. He had never seen one in person and had always assumed they were extinct. The fact that all of this was being hidden by magic floored him. He could only wonder what Katherine would do if she knew something like this was hiding right under her nose.

As Damon continued to walk around he was able to gather more and more intel about what was going on around this place. They were definitely planning something and from the looks of things, it was obvious that that something would be happening sooner rather than later. Weapons of every kind were being made here, some of which Damon had never seen before. There were even groups of people of all ages around learning how to use these various weapons. In fact, most of the conversations he heard involved vampire slayings.

When he had had enough snooping around, Damon searched for an exit and found one that was the least guarded. It was a tunnel that he assumed was once a sewage drain many years ago. It was empty now except for the occasional piece of trash left from the humans of yesteryears. Then again, as he thought about it, those remains could very well be recent ones too. Lost in thought, Damon didn't realize there was someone else in the tunnel with him until it was too late.

Everything happened so fast that Damon had little to no time to react. All he saw at first was a blur as someone ran at him, coming out from the shadows. After that, there was a sharp pain in his side and he began to feel the stinging effects of vervain as it entered his system. He could feel the veins protruding from his skin around his eyes as his fangs lengthened. He looked up to see where his attacker was and did a double take. There, standing before him was a child version of Katherine. All at once he remembered the day he met Isobel and the baby that she was forced to leave behind. He knew very well that this was that child and the prophecy Katherine had told him sprang into this thoughts.

The girl was staring at him with a mixture of pride and fear as she debated what to do next. Damon went to take a step towards her, but stumbled. The girl reacted quickly and moved to stab him again, but there was another blur followed by the sound of the dart falling to the ground.

"Elena! What are you doing down here?" came a familiar voice.

Damon blinked as he registered the sight of Caroline before him. "Damon?" came another familiar voice and he turned to see Lexi approaching them from the opposite side of the tunnel.

"Elena, go home, we'll deal with you later," Caroline said to the younger girl. Elena stared at Damon with wide brown eyes for a moment before she nodded and took off running. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, turning towards him.

"Elena got him with the dart," Lexi said, coming to kneel by his side. "I'm surprised you're still conscious," she added, sounding impressed.

Damon moved to lean against the wall behind him for support. "I've been building up an immunity to it," he said. He was never sure about Katherine anymore and if she ever tried to poison him, she would be in for one hell of a surprise.

"You never answered my question," Caroline said as she stood in front of him with her arms folded over her chest.

Damon gave a short nod before he answered her. "I was informed that there was a large population of humans guarded by magic. I had to check it out for myself because it sounded so strange." He looked between the blonde vampires before him and added, "And I had to know where to steer Katherine's lackeys clear from."

Caroline looked at him skeptically before turning to look at Lexi. "Damon-" Lexi started.

"I know that you have no reason to trust me right now, but I assure you that I'm not going to say a word about this to her. In fact, I think we should go somewhere and talk. I have something to share with you."

Caroline still looked unconvinced, but Lexi nodded firmly. "If we're going, we should go now." With that, the three of them began their journey to Anna's. Before Damon followed the girls, he turned to look in the direction that the doppelganger had gone. He gave a quick shake of his head to clear it and then caught up with the other two.

* * *

><p>After Anna had secured the three of them a room, Damon began to tell them about what they were truly guarding. "The last time I saw you, you were forced to leave Isobel behind," Damon said.<p>

"That was Elena's mother," Lexi answered, bowing her head a little.

"I know."

She looked up and narrowed her eyes. "How do you know? She was barely a year old when you saw her last."

"I know because she looks like Katherine."

Caroline and Lexi exchanged another look. "Too much like her," Caroline agreed.

"Have you noticed that since that night the scouts have been cut back?" Damon asked. When Lexi nodded, Damon launched into the full explanation. "Katherine was looking for her descendants and Isobel was one of them. She believed that Isobel was the last one and after finding her, she didn't feel the need to look anymore."

"If she was searching for family, why was she killing everyone so ruthlessly?" Caroline asked.

"She told Stefan and I that night about a prophecy a witch told her several centuries ago. Apparently Katherine was told that if a human doppelganger was ever born, it would bring about her death and reverse the world the vampires had created. By taking Isobel's life, she thought she was ending the Petrova line and preventing that prophecy from coming true."

"She doesn't know about Elena?" Lexi asked, her eyes widening.

"Katherine compelled her to tell her if she had any, but Isobel had enough vervain on her so that she was able to lie."

Lexi nodded and then asked, "And what happened to Isobel that night?"

Damon was silent for a moment before he answered. "I turned her at Katherine's request. She lives in the mansion with us and I have helped her transition into this new lifestyle."

He saw the mixture of happiness and sadness in Lexi's eyes as the mention of Isobel still being alive. "You shouldn't tell her about Elena or the other humans," Caroline said, drawing both Lexi and Damon's attention.

"I wasn't planning on it. I only told you about the prophecy because I need you both to keep her safe and hidden. In fact, I want to help you make that prophecy come true."

"But you're one of Katherine's right hands."

He shook his head. "That might have been true a long time ago, but my infatuation with her has passed."

Caroline and Lexi exchanged looks yet again. "Well, there is something that we just started planning and it would be easier if we had someone on the inside to help us," Lexi said.

"Tell me what I need to do," Damon said.


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: That took forever! Sorry guys! This chapter is the beginning to all the Delena goodness to come. Thanks so much for sticking with me on this one guys!**

FOUR

Damon sat in his favorite chair in the living room of his suite, sipping at a glass of his favorite scotch. That was the one thing he liked about how the world had turned out; the production of alcohol had never ceased. It seemed like a waste considering vampires needed a high amount to feel its effects, but it was the one thing proven to help curb the cravings. In a world where the food source was scarce, curbing those cravings were something vampires had to do on a regular basis. With that thought in mind, he tipped the glass to his lips and let the liquor burn its way down his throat. His own cravings had been gnawing at him the past few days, but he was determined not to give in.

His eyes sought out the clock on the mantel above the fireplace and a sigh escaped his lips when he saw the time. It was almost time for his meeting with Lexi and Caroline at Anna's. They had important news to share with him; so important that they had risked a lot to send a message to him to up their regular meeting by a week. In eight years they hadn't had any contact except for their meetings an Anna's so to have them get a message to him directly let Damon know exactly how important it was.

Damon swirled the glass in his hand before finishing off the amber liquid. He set the empty glass on the end table beside him and pushed himself to his feet. If he were going to go, now was a good a time as any. He moved to the coat rack beside the door and pulled on his favorite one. However, as he opened the door, any hope of leaving undetected went away as Katherine filled his vision on the other side of the threshold, her hand poised in midair as if she were just about to knock. A smirk tugged at her lips from the look of surprise on his face. "Going somewhere?"

Damon knew she wasn't going to let him go easily, so he stepped back to let her in. She smirked more and stepped inside, turning as he shut the door behind him and took off his jacket. "I was just on my way out."

"What for?" she asked, leaning against the chair he had vacated only moments ago.

He shrugged. "Nothing in particular."

She nodded slightly and then stared at him in a way that let him know she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He knew that look all too well. It meant she didn't come here for conversation. "I missed you at dinner tonight."

"I wasn't aware that I was invited."

She pouted a little and tilted her head to the side. "You don't need an invitation," she said, her voice a little stern.

He shrugged again. Over the years he had attended the nightly dinner less and less; his lack of desire to be around the "royal family" and all. "My apologies my queen."

Katherine's eyes narrowed at the insulting sound of the title coming from his lips. "There was a particular conversation Stefan started that got us reminiscing about the old days and it made your lack of presence clearer than it usually is." She straightened up and added, "And I have news I thought you would like to know about."

He knew it was a test to choose a topic, but he chose the one he knew she could care less about. "What news?"

"The synthetic blood is finished."

That piqued Damon's interest. It had been in the works for a long time now and it was the most important part of the plan Lexi's people had been working on. The time had come. "Oh?"

She nodded her head. "Klaus told me that preliminary studies show that those working on it have created a true formula. So far, those that have been subjected to testing have seen positive results."

"That's a good sign."

Katherine nodded again and took a step in his direction. "It is a very good sign. Klaus says if things continue to progress like this, the product could be out on the market in sight of a month."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, for the first time meaning it as well.

She was silent as she made her way to him, stopping when she was within an arms reach of him. "Aren't you going to ask what Stefan and I were reminiscing about?"

Damon was quiet for a moment before he shook his head. "No."

Anger flashed through her eyes for a brief moment. That was the one word that Katherine hated most. She was used to getting her way and never being denied. She straightened her shoulders and shook it off, pretending that he had answered differently. "He brought up the time in Moscow where he led a small army to round up a horde of humans. It was New Years Eve and he was shocked that I wasn't there, celebrating with him."

Damon saw the glint in her eyes and the memory washed over him; his eyes fluttering at the images. He couldn't help but smirk at her. "We were there," he replied. In fact, they were right in the midst of everything, but no one paid attention to them. They were down an alley not far from the killing spree where Damon had tracked a few runaways. It was early enough in his undead life where he still liked the path that he had been dealt. He embraced it with every fiber of his being. So much so that when Katherine approached his territory, he abandoned one need to satisfy another. He had taken her right then and there; against the side of the building and on the snow in a pool of blood.

"One of my fondest memories," Katherine whispered as her hands rose to rest on his chest.

Damon wanted to push her away, but he knew doing so would only anger her. He also had to admit that remembering that particular tryst was also diminishing his ability to say no. Fortunately for him, there was a knock at the door, saving him from caving in to Katherine's obvious demands. Katherine pouted as she stepped back to let Damon open the door, revealing Isobel.

"I guess we'll have to catch up another time Damon," Katherine said as she headed for the door.

"Actually, I was looking for you Katherine," Isobel said, causing the elder vampire to stop in her tracks. "Klaus sent me. He says there is something he needs to discuss with you."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Did he happen to mention what it was?" Isobel shook her head which earned an eye roll from the queen. "Typical," she muttered under her breath before walking away without saying another word.

Isobel watched her leave and turned around to speak to Damon only to see him putting on his jacket. "Where are you going?"

"I was already on my way out when she showed up."

"Where are you off to?"

"Just going out for a walk," he said as he gestured for her to follow him into the hall, shutting the door behind him. "Alone," he added before she could invite herself along.

She smirked at him and shook her head. "Flattering that you think I would have nothing better to do than follow you around, but I have some things of my own to attend to," she said and turned her back on him as she moved toward her own suite. With that, Damon used his supernatural speed to get out of the mansion before he was stopped by anyone else.

* * *

><p>Damon sat at the bar in the main room of Anna's place. Just as he figured, Lexi and Caroline had found out about the synthetic blood being almost ready and they were ready to start putting their plan into motion. Damon knew he had reached the time to make one last decision to which side he was on. He agreed with the two blonde vampires and what they were trying to do. The world needed to go back to the way it was before the vampires came along and ruined it, but in order to get to that point, he would have to betray people of his blood.<p>

Deep in his gut he knew he hated the vampires for what they had reduced the world down to and knew that if things kept going the way they were, there would be no people left on the earth within the next century. He hated Stefan for betraying him and making him turn, but in the end, he was his brother and they had stuck by each other's sides for centuries. Then there was Katherine. Just the thought of her made his blood boil. He hated her with every fiber of his being, but he lived because of her blood. Reminiscing about that day in Moscow with her earlier had brought back the memories of the good times they had shared.

Damon sighed and set down his empty glass. As he pushed himself to his feet from the bar stool, he had his mind made up. It was time to do the right thing and stop being selfish. He had wasted too many years being Katherine's lackey and he had had enough. It was time to put an end to the vampire's reign in the world. It was time for the humans to get their planet back.

As Damon stepped onto the street he could sense something wasn't right. There was a scent in the air that was vaguely familiar and it sent a chill up his spine. He followed the scent to around the building across the street from Anna's. He stopped the moment his eyes took in the scene in front of him. There were two of Klaus' best scouts fighting with a human. She wore dark clothes and had her hair pulled up, the dark tresses spilling down her back. Damon growled slightly as she turned to dodge a strike, giving him a glimpse of her face. Elena.

Damon scanned the streets to make sure that no one was around to witness what was happening. If it ever got back to Katherine that he just sat and watched, he would be dead the moment she saw him. However, by the time he looked back at the fight, it was over. Both men had turned to ashen corpses, barely recognizable considering how old they were, the wooden stakes sticking out of their chests. Instead of running away like she should have, Elena simply stood over them, staring down at them as if she were in a trance. A trance that was easily broken as Damon stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself.

She immediately grabbed for another weapon and he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Elena, I don't want to hurt you."

Her eyes widened in fright and surprise at the sound of her name from a complete stranger. It was then that she narrowed her brown eyes as she realized she had seen him before. Her stance slackened enough that Damon knew she wasn't going to launch at him right away. "You're the one Lexi and Caroline keep meeting. The informant."

This time Damon narrowed his eyes. "You shouldn't be out here."

He knew he struck a nerve as she scowled at him before nodding towards Anna's. "And you shouldn't be in there."

He was going to reply, but his ears picked up the sounds of a crowd beginning to form. "Do you have vervain?" he asked, taking a few risky steps forward. She nodded quickly and took a half step back. "Do you remember the last time I saw you?"

"I stabbed you," she stated.

He nodded and looked around; they were getting closer. "I need you to stab me with one and then run like hell. Now."

"Gladly," she said and without hesitation she obliged his command. "Just like old times," she added and after giving him a smirk, she took off into the night. Damon looked down at his stomach to see two vervain darts sticking out of his skin. He knew that without the vervain he had been ingesting regularly, this would be lethal to him. He looked at the spot she had vacated and smirked into the night after her before he collapsed over the corpses she had left in her wake.


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n: Again, sorry for the long wait. I know I have many active stories, but I am working on them. I will not leave any story unfinished :) I promise. That being said, enjoy!**

FIVE

When Damon came to he was in his own room with Isobel sitting by his side. He blinked a few times from the bright light and then smirked at her. "You had us worried there for a second."

"Me too," he replied and pushed himself into a sitting position.

"There was quite a lot of vervain in your system," Stefan said, leaning against the door frame. "I don't know how the hell you managed to survive, but you did. We thought we lost you."

Damon smirked. "Sorry, you're stuck with me."

Stefan couldn't help but smile slightly and move into the room. "How do you feel now?"

"As good as one can after being pumped with poison."

"Good, because Katherine wants to see us. She said the moment you regained consciousness we were to see her."

Damon rolled his eyes and slowly got to his feet. "Then I guess we shouldn't keep her waiting."

"You too, Isobel," Stefan said and led the way.

Isobel knocked on the door to Katherine's chambers and waited for the door to open. The three of them strode past the human slave and continued on to Katherine's receiving room. She was pacing back and forth, muttering things in a language that Damon didn't understand. She stopped once they entered and looked at Damon. "I'm glad you survived."

"Me too," he replied and took a seat without waiting for her to invite him to. His head was pounding and his body felt weak. He would have to feed after leaving Katherine's room.

"According to multiple witnesses, there was one other attack last night. They say it was a human," Katherine announced, getting right to the point which was unusual for her. It showed exactly how serious she was taking the situation. "Three vampires total were lost and after having the stakes analyzed, it was confirmed they were killed by the same person. The human."

Damon had seen Katherine angry before, but never had he seen her angry _and _fearful. "Lucky me, they must have run out of stakes."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "This is not a time for jokes."

He nodded. "My apologies."

"Do you remember anything from your attack?"

Damon shook his head. "I was out for a walk and I heard fighting. By the time I arrived on the scene the others were already dead. I went to investigate when I heard a noise. I turned around and the next thing I knew I had vervain coursing through my system."

"If the witnesses were right and the attacker was human, then we have a serious problem," Stefan said. "We should consider the possibility that it is something else entirely."

"Such as?" Isobel prompted.

Stefan was silent a moment before shaking his head. "Another vampire perhaps. It would explain how they were able to take out two of the best fighters and sneak up on a third."

Damon smirked at that, but said nothing. Katherine's eyes were burning with anger at this point. "I want all of you out on patrol. As of right now, we are going after the humans more ruthlessly than ever before. Anyone you find will be brought in for extreme questioning no matter what. Spread the word," she demanded and left the room.

"Stefan, tell the others," Damon said. "I need to feed."

"I'll come with you," Isobel said and followed him out into the hall as they went their separate way from Stefan. Neither of them spoke until they reached the storage room where the blood bags were kept. "I'm surprised she didn't let you get some rest."

He shrugged as he grabbed three bags out of a freezer and placed them on the closed lid. "All I need to do is feed and then I'll be fine," he assured her and then bit into the first bag.

"Do you think it was a human that caused that amount of damage?"

There was something about the way she asked that question that caused Damon to study her. "What do you think?"

She looked around before she answered. "I think it's more than likely that it was human."

"What makes you say that?" he asked, biting into the second bag.

She took a deep breath. "The group of humans that you found me with," she started and Damon immediately regretted having asked her. He had almost forgotten that Elena was her daughter. "They were tired of hiding in the shadows. Vampires like Lexi had joined our group wanting to see an end to Katherine and the vampires' hold on the world. It's been twenty years; plenty of time for them to have recruited more people and trained them to fight."

Damon nodded as he finished off the second bag and picking up the third. "Let's just keep that between us, okay? If the wrong person found out about that they would surely question you and think of you as a traitor."

Isobel nodded. "I couldn't agree more. I may be loyal to Katherine because she chose to spare my life, but-"

Damon stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to say any more. I understand," he said and handed her the third bag. "Come on, drink up," he added and watched her drain the bag before they left on their scouting mission.

* * *

><p>After several hours of finding nothing, Isobel and Damon were ready to call it a night. "We can pick this up later, right? Katherine doesn't expect us to stay out forever I hope," Isobel said.<p>

"Even if she does, I won't," Damon replied giving her a smirk. "Why don't you go on ahead; I'll catch up later."

"Why?"

"I want to see the location of the second attack. There might be some sort of clue there that I may be able to recognize. I'll report to Katherine when I get back."

Isobel studied him before nodding. "See you later," she said and blurred off into the night.

Damon took his time in getting to the place where Elena had stabbed him the second time. It was right outside of Anna's which made it easier to remember and return to. He stood right where he had fallen and looked around. It didn't take long for his ears to pick up a sound coming from one of the empty buildings nearby. Cautiously he approached it and went inside. The moment his foot crossed the threshold an arm shot out and he caught it by wrapping his hand around the wrist. He pulled and slammed the person to the ground, dropping his urgent stance when he saw Elena's face contorting in pain.

"What in the world are you doing back here?" he asked.

She was surprised when Damon reached down and pulled her back to her feet. She took a few steps back and let her hand rest at her side where he could see the handle of a vervain dart. "This is the perfect place to hunt."

"People saw you, Elena. You're lucky no one caught you."

"That was a few days ago."

Damon was surprised to hear that. He hadn't thought the vervain had knocked him out for more than a day. "Either way, it's not safe."

"Nowhere is safe," she replied.

Damon took a deep breath and took a step forward, daring her to stab him for a third time. "I'm well aware of that."

"I'm not the only one out on the prowl. There are many of us that have trained for years, most a lot longer than me. We're sick and tired of being hunted like animals. We're finally fighting back."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

Her fingers flexed as if she were thinking about reaching for her weapon. Damon's brow rose in amusement. Her lips twitched as if she wanted to smile. "Caroline and Lexi trust you."

"Yes," he said even though she hadn't asked a question.

"Then I can trust you."

"You should trust me when I say you need to stay hidden."

She shook her head and looked away. "If you're giving Lexi and Caroline information, then you're helping with our master plan. If you're helping with the master plan, then the last thing you want us to do is remain hidden. From what I've heard, you want to stop what's happening as much as we do."

Damon ran a hand through his hair. She was being incredibly difficult. "Elena-"

"Give me one good reason I should stay hidden," she interrupted.

He thought about it and decided that it would be best to give her a condensed version without telling her everything. "Because if something happens to you, everything we are working to achieve will have been for nothing."

Her head tipped to the side and her eyes filled with curiosity. "Meaning...?"

"You're the key to changing the future and if you get caught or killed, humans will become extinct."

She was silent for a long moment before she shook her head in mild disbelief. "How can you know that for certain?"

"I'm asking you to trust me." He watched as she straightened her stance in defiance. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Just promise me that you'll let the others do the heavy slaying. As you said, we both have a common goal and I do not want anything to jeopardize that."

"Fine," she said and took a deep breath. "I guess that means I should probably go."

"Yes."

She stared at him, her brown eyes full of curiosity. "What happened to make you want to help the humans?"

Her question caught him off guard. "I think that's a story for another time."

"So will I see you again?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation. There was something about her that told Damon he would be seeing more of her because he wouldn't be able to help himself. "Now please go." She gave him a small smile and began making her exit. Damon watched her leave before heading back to the mansion to report to Katherine.

* * *

><p>Katherine was in the meeting hall with Stefan and Klaus. They stopped talking to look at Damon when he entered the room. "You did not come back with Isobel," Klaus pointed out.<p>

"I'm aware of that."

"She said you wanted to search for clues that others might have missed. Did you find anything?" Klaus asked.

"I did not. I extended my search the buildings in the area, but still found nothing. How did other search parties go?"

"We're in the process of organizing patrols," Katherine announced, having kept her attention on the document beforehand. "You may return to your quarters. I want you completely recovered before I send you out again," she said without looking at him.

"As you wish," he replied and made his way out of the room.

Stefan followed him out and walked with him. "They were also talking of the synthetic blood."

"What did they have to say?"

"That it's really going to happen. So far it has the green light and will hit the market soon."

"That's good news."

Stefan nodded. "It is. With a synthetic blood there is no real reason to keep some of the humans in existence. Katherine intends to be more extensive in her searches until every last one of them is wiped out."

Damon stopped walking and turned to look at his brother. "Is that really wise?"

"There will be tests to make sure the synthetic blood really works."

"We were human once, Stefan."

Stefan looked around, his eyes wide. "Damon..." he warned.

"I'm just pointing out a fact," he said and began walking again. "I'll see you later, Brother."


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n: Here's a little look at Elena's side of the "war."**

SIX

The moment Elena crossed the barrier she came face to face with Caroline. The blonde vampire looked incredibly angry with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her foot tapping slightly against the ground. "Where the hell were you?"

She stared at Caroline and simply shrugged. "What do you want me to say, Care? I was out on the surface hunting. The same thing I was doing a few nights ago even though you said not to."

"Lexi is furious."

"What do you expect me to do exactly?" she asked, taking a slight step forward. "You all say that it's important that we show the vampires that they can't get away with what they've done. You say that we have to fight back in order to stop hiding, but the moment I cross the barrier, everyone rushes after to pull me back. I don't understand."

Caroline shook her head, but relaxed her stance. "I don't want to sound like Lexi and say that when the time is right, we'll tell you, but there is a reason that you specifically shouldn't go to the surface. I've seen you train Elena, I know you're more than capable of defending yourself and you've proven that, but it's too dangerous for you out there."

"But-"

"Your bold attack the other day raised the queen's awareness," Caroline interrupted. "Do you know what that means exactly?"

Elena took a deep breath. Because of her, the scouts had tripled in the last few days and there was no sign that they were backing down. "But they didn't catch me."

"Yes, thanks to Damon, you're safe."

Elena's brow arched at that. "How did you know that?"

"Anna saw the whole thing happen and she told me." Elena was silent and Caroline reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. "All am I saying is that we need you to lay low. Our plan is coming along and very soon we'll be able to put it into motion. You'll be involved with that a hundred percent, but until then, I need you here, training the others for when that day comes, okay?"

Elena nodded. "Alright."

"Now go home. Your father is going out of his mind," Caroline said, giving her a light push in the opposite direction of the barrier. Elena smirked and headed off to deal with her father.

Caroline waited until she was out of eyesight before she proceeded to Lexi's quarters where they would be meeting with Sheila and Bonnie Bennett, the most powerful witches they had come in contact with. "Is Elena safe?" Lexi asked in a grouchy tone the moment Caroline entered.

"Yes," she replied and took her seat next to the other blonde vampire, across the from the witches. "You shouldn't be so hard on her though, she did lose-"

"Many have lost something to the vampires," Sheila interrupted.

Lexi shook her head. "I don't think she fights for that reason."

Sheila nodded in agreement. "The prophecy that Damon shared with you is true for it has been passed down our line as well. She fights because she was born to turn the tide of the war."

"How long did Damon instruct you to keep her nature a secret? If she knew the truth, she would be more apt to follow your orders and stay here rather than venture up to the surface and risk everything," Bonnie said.

Lexi and Caroline exchanged a look before they both shook their heads. "Elena will comply with our orders. Her nature will be revealed to her shortly. We have more important matters to discuss," Lexi said, changing the subject. The witches were silent a moment before they nodded and began fine tuning all that they could of their plan.

* * *

><p>After receiving another lecture from both her father and Alaric, Elena went straight to bed. Even though she was tired, she had trouble falling asleep. She couldn't stop thinking about Damon and the pull that she had felt between them in the abandoned building. When she woke in the morning she didn't feel any more rested than she had before going to bed. Slowly, she pulled on her clothes and made her way to the communal kitchen for breakfast. It was there that she met up with her friends Tyler and Matt.<p>

"Did Alaric show you the new dart he made?" Matt asked.

"Not exactly," Elena replied with a smirk on her face.

"Do tell," Tyler said in a low voice as he knew what that look meant.

"It holds three times the usual dosage to ensure that the vampire goes down immediately."

"How does it work?"

"Amazing."

Tyler shuddered. "I'm suddenly glad I have the werewolf gene. I can't imagine what kind of weapons Alaric would have invented to stop my kind. Nor do I really want to think about it."

"Won't that deplete our vervain supply?"

"Not with the amount that the witches are growing. It's what's keeping the vampires out of here in the first place," she reminded him.

"What was it like?" Matt asked.

"What was what like?"

"Fighting an actual vampire?"

Elena opened her mouth to reply, but shut it when she couldn't find the right thing to say. "It probably felt about the same as when she kicks our asses in training," Tyler commented to break the silence. "Only worse because she kills them."

"You've fought vamps before," Elena said after a moment.

"Yeah, but that's nothing. We're just training. It's different when you're actually fighting for your life."

Elena thought about it and nodded. There definitely was a difference that she couldn't quite explain. "Speaking of, if we don't leave now, Lexi's going to be even more mad than she already is."

"I can't imagine why," Tyler muttered sarcastically before getting up from the table.

The three of them made their way to the training arena where, sure enough, Lexi was waiting on the three of them as they were the last to show up. "Elena," she said, beckoning the young girl to her as the others went to the join the group.

"Lexi-"

"Save it," she interrupted. "I'm not angry about that. We're actually meeting Damon tomorrow to put things in motion. I need you to go help Alaric for the day so that he can help Bonnie and Sheila with deployment."

"No training?"

"You've proven that you can handle yourself. Just remember that even because I say this, it doesn't mean that you can slack off. You're just going to have to train on your own time."

"See you later," she said and nodded her goodbye to Matt and Tyler before making her way to Alaric's lab area. "Lexi sent me to help. Tell me what you need me to do."

Alaric grinned at her before reaching for a scroll and spreading it across the table. "This is my latest project."

Elena's eyes lit up as she saw the design displayed before her. "I thought you were a genius for the latest darts, but this..." Her voice trailed off as she couldn't find the words to describe how incredible the design was.

"Vervain bombs," Alaric mused aloud, still not used to the words.

Elena shook her head and looked at him. "Before we start on this, I should tell you that the bigger dart didn't kill the person I stabbed. Is that even possible?"

"Legend has it that if vampires slowly ingest a small amount of vervain every day over a long period of time they can build up a tolerance or even a good immunity to it. As far as I know, most of them give up after awhile. The burn is too much for them."

She nodded and shrugged after a moment. "That one must have been ingesting it for quite some time."

"But this," he said, gesturing to the vervain bomb diagram. "This will virtually melt the skin off of any vampire exposed to it causing their muscle tissue to be exposed. No matter how old they are, they're skin can't repair that quickly and it gives us more of an advantage than before."

"I hope this works," Elena said and they began their work.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n: Again, sudden inspiration is fueling me! There has been such motivation to write this and finish this story (but not with this chapter) in the past few months than ever before. The more you guys push, the better off I'll be. Unfinished Business is finished and I have a new oneshot: Night of the Hunter. I will be working on The Gift of Life too, but WitS is my first priority. I can't thank you guys enough for sticking with me and I hope this was (and will be) well worth the wait. Enjoy!**

**also, for anyone that is interested, I have an Avengers story up as well. Gods Among Men is Loki/OC**

SEVEN

As usual, Damon sat in the room Anna had arranged for Lexi and Caroline to meet him in. He knew there meeting wouldn't be for a bit, but he had nothing better to do with his time. Instead, he sat in the room and sipped at his endless drinks that Anna supplied. When Lexi and Caroline finally showed up, he was more than ready to hear something other than the stuff swirling inside of his mind. "How long have you been here?" Caroline asked as she noticed his relaxed state.

"A bit too long," he replied and shrugged as they sat down. "It was either drink here or at home."

"Anna told us that you were able to stop Elena from going on a huge killing spree," Lexi said as she sat down across from him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but I thought I made myself clear on the fact that she should not be out there."

"She's taking a stance and fighting back. I can't really blame her considering this is what we keep telling her she should be doing."

"So then compel her," Damon fired back.

"I can't," Lexi pressed.

"You should really think of something. The moment anyone but me sees her, everything you've been working so hard to achieve will have been for nothing."

"We," Caroline corrected and earned a sharp look from both of them. "Everything _we've _been working so hard to achieve. You're on our side Damon."

Damon chose to ignore her because in all honesty he hadn't really chosen a side. He was a vampire and he loved being one, but he detested Katherine and the way she was blowing through humans as if they weren't important to their survival. Mostly he was doing all of this to get back at Katherine, but a part of him was doing it because he knew it was right.

"The synthetic blood is finished," he blurted out in order to change the subject.

Lexi and Caroline looked at him with wide eyes. "Already?"

He nodded. "Katherine, Klaus, and Stefan were talking about it when I arrived home. Stefan went on to tell me that everything was given the green light and it should be on the market very soon."

"Then we need to get a move on," Caroline said to Lexi.

Lexi nodded, but stared at Damon. "We need to know that you really are on our side, Damon. There cannot be any mistakes and our trusting you is something we've all given a lot of thought about. Trust me, if any of this gets around to the wrong person, I will hunt you down and kill you in the worst way possible."

Damon stared her straight in the eye and thought long and hard about what she was saying and what Caroline had said moments ago. He thought about the first time Lexi and Caroline had come to him asking him to join their cause and he simply nodded. "I'm on your side and no one will hear about this. No one."

Lexi saw the truth in his eyes and nodded in acceptance. "Then I guess it's time for you to hear our plans." Her eyes flickered to Caroline and she gave a curt nod, understanding not to say anything and let Lexi do all the talking. "We plan on getting into the plant where they are making the synthetic blood and tamper with it. We have witches that are working on a spell and growing vervain. Our plan is to spell the blood and spike it with vervain so that it will effect a mass of vampires all at once and weaken them. With a vast majority having ingested vervain, it would be easy for humans all over the world to rise up and begin striking back. Only this time the vampires would take notice. It would be a long battle, but one that would have favorable results for the humans."

"How would you ensure that a vast majority gets to drink it without others finding out about it first?" Damon asked.

"That's where the witch's spell would come in. They are going to have the vervain in their system, but they won't know until some time after drinking it. After a certain length of time, the spell wears off and the effects are instant. This way the blood has time to reach the masses."

Damon let that sink in for a moment and ran a hand through his hair. "That's a really good plan."

"It's even better when you have the Bennett witches working for you," Lexi said, a smile forming on her lips at the shock on his face.

"This might actually work."

"That's what we're hoping for," Caroline chimed in.

"What do you need from me?" Damon asked.

"Blueprints of the facility and anything that could help us get in and out of there without being noticed."

He stood up and nodded. "I'll see what I can do. I'll meet you here in two days at the same time."

"See you then," Lexi said and waited for Caroline to exit before she went and Damon followed suit.

Caroline waited for Lexi at their usual spot and once she was sure they were alone she asked, "Why didn't we tell Damon the real plan?"

"I would rather have him know part of it just in case. He might be caught and if Klaus questions him, we're done. After it's done we'll tell him. Just don't say anything."

"I won't," she assured the elder vampire and they continued on their way to the colony to share the news with Sheila, Emily, and Bonnie.

* * *

><p>The moment Damon returned home, he found himself being thrown against the door that he had just closed. He blinked to see Stefan in bloodlust holding him up by the throat with one hand. "Stefan!" he yelled and swung out with his leg, catching his younger brother in the gut. Stefan grunted and let him fall as he stumbled back. In a split second he launched at Damon again, but this time he saw it coming and dodged the attack, making Stefan hit the wall hard enough to crack it. "What the fuck is your problem, Brother?"<p>

"I came to talk to you about patrols, but surprise, surprise, you weren't here. I asked Isobel where you went and she said out for a walk. You've been doing that a lot lately and something seemed a little off. I decided to follow you and imagine my surprise when I see you walk into Anna's. That's a traitor's bar, Damon."

"No, it's a neutral zone. Anna has Klaus' permission to serve to whomever she wants regardless of what they've done. Once they step out, then they're fair game."

"That doesn't change the fact that I saw Caroline and Lexi show up together and leave right before you. What could you possibly have to say to those two?"

Damon's eyes went wide for a moment. He hadn't realized Stefan had stayed around that long. "I didn't know they would show up."

"Don't lie to me."

"I was there hours before they showed up."

"Out of all places-"

"I like Anna," Damon interrupted. "She doesn't talk about politics or anything that bores me such as my job and what goes around here. She just lets me be and I have my own drinking room there so no one else will ask me anything. Caroline and Lexi happened to come in and we talked."

"What did you tell them?"

Damon shrugged. "Nothing much. Caroline did most of the talking. She spoke about the places they had been and the humans they had encountered; which weren't many. And Lexi..."

"What about Lexi?" he asked, hurt clouding his eyes.

"Lexi talked about you or rather had me talk about you."

Stefan seemed to calm down after hearing that. It had been several decades since Katherine had exiled Lexi for having a relationship with Stefan. Damon was never sure if it had ever escalated above friendship, but he knew that with Lexi gone, so was the brother he had known and loved. Instead, her absence had allowed him to become Katherine's lackey who jumped at her command and did nothing on his own.

"Do you think she's still around?" he asked quietly.

Damon shook his head. "No. She only passed this way because she and Caroline wanted to get together. They were leaving tonight. She says hello."

Stefan stared at Damon, searching his eyes to see if he was lying. When he gave in and chose to believe him, he ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry I attacked you."

"It's okay," Damon replied. "Just don't do it again until you have all the facts."

Stefan nodded and stepped forward. "We do need to go over a patrol schedule though."

"Let's get started then."

* * *

><p>Elena made her way through the colony until she came upon Caroline's quarters. She knocked lightly on the door and waited for the blonde vampire to open it. "Elena? What's wrong?" she asked, looking around.<p>

"Nothing's wrong."

Caroline frowned. "Then what are you doing here? It's a little late for you isn't it?"

Elena shrugged. "Lexi has me helping Alaric perfect his weapons. She said I had to train on my own time and I'm too bored to sleep. I was wondering if you would spar me."

"Elena-"

"There's no one else, Care. No one that will actually pretend it's a real fight."

"Excuse me?"

"I want to practice life or death. I don't want you to hold back on me. Of course we won't kill each other, but I think we should really try to."

Caroline bit her lip and then sighed. "I really shouldn't be doing this, but why not. Any rules?"

"Don't actually kill each other," Elena stated and the two of them made their way to the training area.

"Your father is going to kill me for this."

"I'm not going to tell him."

"If I'm not holding back on you that means you're going to show signs of a fight."

"You can always heal me."

"Uh, no."

"No?"

"We're about to launch an attack that will surely be countered and I cannot have you hopped up on vampire blood when you actually do get to fight. The last thing I would ever want for you is to be like this."

Elena tilted her head to the side and turned to look at Caroline. "You never told me how you turned."

"You never asked before and I never planned on telling you anyway."

"Please?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Good god, you are full of demands tonight."

"I told you, I'm bored," Elena replied and smiled.

"It was about a hundred years ago and I was on the run with my family. We weren't as lucky as yours and were caught by the scouts. We weren't in bad shape so they took us to Klaus and Katherine to be used as Donors. Klaus was infatuated with me and decided to keep me as a personal Donor. Katherine didn't like it and asked for me to be sent away or killed, but Klaus arranged for Damon to turn me and teach me the ropes. We had a thing for a few years while I also had a thing with Klaus. Katherine found out and being the bitch that she is demanded that I be killed for treason. Klaus told Damon to help me escape as he was going to do anyway and it was shortly after that when I met Lexi and here we are."

"You and Damon?"

Caroline nodded. "He was different then. He is very good at being a vampire and he was so wrapped up in Katherine and her thirst for blood that that was the way he was too. He was one of the scariest things I've ever encountered, but he had a soft side too that came out when it was just the two of us. He's not so bad anymore. He's still incredibly malicious when he has to be, but deep down, he just-" Caroline shook her head and narrowed her eyes at Elena. "I think I have an idea of why you're asking and I don't want to know so we're not talking about this anymore. Are we going to spar or not?"

* * *

><p>Lexi heard fighting noises coming from the training arena. She couldn't remember anyone asking to use it at this hour and it set off a red flag. She got up and blurred over to see that it was Caroline and Elena. She was shocked to see Elena covered in blood and bruises as well as Caroline and neither of them was holding back. She shook her head and decided it was time to teach Elena a lesson. She moved with vampiric speed to where the girls were fighting and decided to join in.<p>

She grabbed Elena by the back of the shirt and slammed her to the ground with such force she heard something pop. Elena cried out in pain, but still lashed out and blocked Lexi's next move. "Lexi!" Caroline shouted.

"She wants a real fight, then let's give it to her," she said grabbed Elena's wrist as the human tried to punch. Elena shouted out in pain as Lexi snapped her wrist with little effort and pushed her away to defend herself against Caroline. "This is how it's going to be in real combat, Elena. You've been lucky so far because the soldiers were new vamps. There are a lot of soldiers that aren't new and have skills like you've never encountered. Caroline, don't stop," she demanded.

When Elena was practically worn down, Lexi grabbed her under her arms and lifted her to her feet. She held her in a vice-like grip and exposed her neck. Caroline gave her a horrified look as Lexi's fangs extended and bit down into Elena's neck. "LEXI!" Caroline yelled, running forward to stop her, but Lexi stepped back on her own accord and let Elena drop to the ground with a thud.

She moved to stand over her and then sunk down to her knees, still over the human girl. "You've been getting lucky out there, but it won't always be that way. When our attack happens, there will be nothing for the vampires to eat. Nothing. Do you know what it's like for us to starve? It's like humans and they revert to their primal instincts to get food. A starved vampire is almost as dangerous as an Original. You are not invincible, Elena. You only have so many weapons on you and so much training. I only did this so that you don't let your victories get to your head."

She watched as tears leaked from Elena's eyes and Lexi eyed her broken and bleeding body. She put her own wrist against her lips and bit down to get the blood flowing before she gave it to Elena. Elena drank it hungrily and didn't stop until Lexi pulled away. Lexi stood up and waited for Elena to be a hundred percent again before helping her up.

"Now go home, wash up, and go to bed."

Elena said nothing as she ran away. Caroline shoved Lexi with everything she had. "You could have killed her!"

"I taught her a lesson and she won't be forgetting it any time soon. If she's going to lead the human population in taking the planet back from the vampires then she needs to know what defeat feels like," she explained and began walking away, heading back to her own quarters for the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8

**a/n: Just a taste of the DE moments to come :)**

**I was asked about the ages and time era of the story so if anyone else wanted to know, here they are:**

**Klaus and his siblings are well over 1000 years old, Katherine is around 5-600, Damon and Stefan are around 300, Lexi is 400, Caroline is 100 (all of these are rough estimates) and the witches, since they can live a very long life, are pretty old too (Emily and Shiela for example). As far as what year this story is to take place, I was thinking somewhere around 2500 AD...kinda modern, but imagine a post-apocalyptic feel to the world that now exists.**

**also, my goal is to finish this story by the end of June (writing it, not posting it). That way when I start my Masters, I won't have to worry about it :)**

EIGHT

There was a knock at the door and Damon rolled his eyes. He knew he was late for his patrol, but he really didn't care at the moment. It wasn't until a second, more urgent round of knocks came that he forced himself up and sped to the door. He opened it to Isobel and his eyes went wide in shock at the bloodied sight of her. "What the hell happened?"

She came in and wiped her mouth as she passed. "Katherine."

"Care to elaborate?" he asked as he shut the door.

"She summoned me to talk about my overuse of the Donors."

"Well-"

"Normally she just gives me a little lecture so that if Klaus ever asks, it really did happen, but this time she went crazy. She started going off on a tangent about Stefan and then she went off about Klaus and then she mentioned your name and just stopped talking. I stuck around for a little bit and heard her arguing with Stefan. I think she might be on the way here, so I came to warn you; she's not in a good mood."

"Is Katherine ever in a good mood?" he muttered and shook his head. "Thank you for the warning. I think I know what Katherine wants."

"If you want, I can come by in twenty minutes with an emergency about the patrols," Isobel offered as she moved towards the door.

Damon nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. Thank you."

"You owe me."

He smirked and opened the door. "Of course." She smiled back at him and right after he shut the door, there was another knock. This time, he wasn't surprised as he opened it to see Katherine standing there. "Katherine."

"Damon," she replied and pushed her way inside.

Damon knew what she wanted and knew that it was best to say very little. Sometimes she would vent so much that she would leave after talking. He was hoping it would be one of those situations or at least to keep her talking until Isobel came to interrupt.

"I came to see you yesterday."

"I was-"

"Out for a walk, I know," she interrupted. "You've been doing that a lot lately."

"I was making sure the patrols were running smoothly."

Katherine stopped moving about the room and turned to stare at him. "I'm not sure if you're telling me the truth. And that's bad for both of us. I used to be able to tell when you told the truth because you had no reason to lie to me and now..." she shook her head and stepped forward. "Over the last five decades I've noticed that you've come to less and less of our formal dinners and there has been more of an absence of you overall. I have to say, Damon, I'm beginning to question your loyalty."

Damon never thought he would be having this conversation and he was not prepared for it. Instead, he tried to change the subject ever so slightly. "Honestly Katherine, I have been more distant than usual in recent years. I just don't see why I should make an effort when you clearly only care for Stefan. We have good chemistry in the sack, but that's it. We've both accepted this."

Katherine's eyes narrowed with anger. "My love for Stefan has nothing to do with this."

"It has _everything _to do with this. You only keep me around because I am a great soldier and if I were gone, Stefan might turn on you."

She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Fine. I love Stefan; he's the one I truly want to be with. Klaus is my king and there's nothing I can do about that. You... You were just a really good fuck and I couldn't just let you go." She smiled maliciously and gave a light laugh. "Actually, I didn't even mean to turn you. You weren't supposed to be there when the intruder entered your house and they certainly weren't supposed to kill you, but you had to try and save your brother and, well, here you are."

He had always suspected as much, but to hear her say it aloud for the first time in over three hundred years made his heart break. She watched as the hurt washed over him and then shrugged again to show her indifference.

"I just wanted to say that our chemistry isn't what it used to be and if my suspicions ever get proof, I will stake you myself," she said and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Damon stood there, staring at the open door, only coming back to his senses when Isobel entered his vision. "That went well," she muttered.

"You heard?"

"I tried not to," she admitted and shrugged.

Damon ran a hand through his hair and shuddered. "You can do whatever you want for patrols. I'm going out." Before she could ask him where he was going, he was gone.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before Damon found himself in the abandoned warehouse where he had found Elena once before. He didn't know why he felt compelled to go there, but he did. He moved about the first level with a slow pace and as soon as he reached the landing for the second floor, he sensed something was off, but he couldn't tell what it was. It wasn't until Elena stepped out of the shadows that he knew what it was.<p>

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He really wanted to know why he couldn't hear her heartbeat or sense her in any other way but instinct.

"I..." she started and then smiled sheepishly. "I was hoping to run into you."

"Here?"

She nodded. "I thought I could bring you some of the weapons Alaric and I have been working on with the help of Bonnie. That way you could know what the others will be up against."

"Bonnie..." he breathed, that name sounding so familiar.

Elena nodded. "Bonnie Bennett."

Damon's eyes went wide with surprise. "You have a Bennett witch?"

"Four of them, actually."

"No wonder your colony is so well hidden," he muttered and looked back at her. "Well, what do you have?"

Elena smiled again and moved back into the shadows to retrieve a small drawstring bag. "The first thing Alaric started making when we set up the colony was the vervain dart," she explained, handing one over to him.

He cringed a little as he remembered how it felt to have her jab one into his side twice. "Yes, I'm familiar with these."

"The original dart contains enough vervain to knock a vampire out for a good length of time. The new and improved dart contains twice that amount; enough to kill a vampire in a matter of minutes," she said handing one of those to him next. "Which reminds me, how were you able to survive one of each?"

Damon smirked as he handed the darts back to her. "Well, I've been regularly ingesting vervain for nearly two decades now. I've built up a little immunity to it. It still burns, but it's no longer lethal at the normal quantities."

"Does it hurt?"

"At first it hurt like hell, but you get over it and now it's not so bad."

"Why did you start taking it?"

He hesitated before answering her. He had started taking it after he turned Isobel so that no one could compel him about her existence. He had even gotten Isobel to do it too, just in case. "I realized where my loyalties lie and I thought it would be best to prepare for the worst."

She nodded and reached into the bag for the next object. "This is Alaric's latest invention; the vervain bomb."

Damon took it from her gently and felt the pain even by just staring at the amount of vervain inside of the bomb. "That's..."

"Impressive, I know. I can't wait to test it."

"As long as it's not on me this time," he said, smirking as he handed it back to her.

"I promise," she replied and set the back down after carefully placing the bomb back inside. "And I know you and the others don't like me coming out from behind the barrier, but I brought some things with me that might ease your worry."

"I'll be the judge of that."

She reached into her back pocket and tossed a small metal object at him. "It's a compass."

He opened it and saw that there was only one hand inside and it was pointing directly at him. "And it's broken."

She shook her head and smiled smugly. "It's something Bonnie, John, and I have been working on. It's a compass that only points to supernatural beings. This way I'll always know which direction to avoid or approach."

"Clever," he replied, tossing it back to her.

"And then there's the best invention yet," she said, pulling out a long chain from beneath her shirt. Damon stepped closer to her so that he could reach out and touch it. "Bonnie spelled it for me. It makes me and any human around me undetectable by supernatural beings up to a half mile radius. It's how you didn't hear my heart beating earlier or smell my blood."

Damon played with the talisman in his hands and then did a double take as he looked up and met Elena's gaze. He cleared his throat and took a half step back. "Those are all very good weapons, but you still have to be careful."

She rolled her eyes. "I learned my lesson yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" he asked, his tone full of concern.

"Lexi overheard Caroline and I sparring. I told Caroline not to hold back, but she still was. Anyway, Lexi didn't like us being up that late and she decided to teach me a lesson about not getting cocky from having a few victories under my belt."

"That's a good lesson."

"She practically broke every bone in my body and then gave me her blood to heal me when she was finished 'teaching'." She shrugged again and tucked her hair behind her ears. "That's why I decided to come here and see if you showed up instead of hunting."

"Good idea."

There was a moment of silence before Elena tilted her head as she looked at him. "So what are you doing here?"

"I..." he started and then realized the true answer was the same as hers had been. "I was also hoping to run into you."

"Oh?"

He smirked lightly at her. "I was hoping to teach you a lesson about finding you out of the colony again, but I guess Lexi did that for me already."

Elena shook her head and smiled. "You should come to the colony again. With me."

"I should, should I?"

She nodded and it was then that Damon realized they were now standing very close to each other. He wasn't sure if he had moved or if she had, but neither of them seemed to want to back away. "I think it would be good for you to meet the others. I know Alaric and John are looking forward to meeting the man on the inside."

The mention of their names made him weary. "I think it might be best for me not to know any of them. Better to deny what I really don't know."

Elena reached out and laid her hand on his arm. "So that's a no. For now," she said and stared up at him as though she was waiting for something.

Damon knew exactly what she was waiting for and couldn't help himself from leaning in. Their eyes closed as their lips finally met. He wasn't surprised at all that Elena took the initiative and parted her lips first to deepen the kiss. Damon didn't hesitate to oblige. Their mouths moved as one, their tongues dancing together as if they had been made for each other. Damon's hands moved to Elena's hips as hers slid up his chest in order to use his shirt to pull him closer. It wasn't until the faintest of moans escaped her lips that Damon broke the kiss and took a few steps back.

"You should go," he said, his voice strained from his own arousal.

She nodded, knowing that there was no point in arguing. Instead of saying anything, she simply smiled before grabbing her stuff and running back to the colony for the night.


	9. Chapter 9

**a/n: so...this chapter did not come out according to plan at all, but I really like where it ended up. More DE goodness next chapter :)**

**also, I'm several chapters ahead with this one, so I'll be updating twice a week from now until the story is finished. Look for new chapters every Monday and Thursday :)**

NINE

"You're late," Lexi chided and Damon walked into the room at Anna's.

Damon smirked. "With good reason," he assured her, placing a scroll on the table in front of her and Caroline. Both girls stared at him before slowly moving their gazes to the scroll. "And hello to you too," he added as Lexi began to unroll it.

"Blueprints," Lexi mused, smiling as she took in the layout on the page before her eyes.

"Took you long enough," Caroline teased as she moved to stand next to Lexi.

"Have you had a chance to go over it?" Lexi asked.

"I don't have to. I helped oversee the project. I know more about the ins and outs of the facility than Klaus and Katherine think I do. They don't give me enough credit about paying attention to things they think I'm bored of."

"With this we can start working on our plan of attack."

He nodded. "That's what I had planned on." He moved to stand between them and pointed to a tiny unmarked portion of the blueprint. "This is an emergency vent. It's wide enough for one person to walk through at a time and it's the only point of entry that goes directly from the outside of the facility to the room where the synthetic blood is kept."

"How long is the tunnel?"

"It's not the length of the tunnel that will be a problem. It's the steepness in certain points and the fact that climbing will be involved. At least the exit into the facility will bring your people right to the cauldrons that the mixture is being kept it."

Lexi nodded and then turned to look at Damon. "I'm sure the witches can think of something to get around that. What about the outside of the property? How heavily guarded is it?"

"Klaus has his best guards on it, including his brother Kol."

Lexi rolled her eyes and Caroline gave them a confused look. "Who is Kol?"

"He's one of the Original five," Lexi explained. "Klaus might be the most powerful because of his being hybrid, but Kol is the most ruthless because he has no feelings whatsoever. Klaus at least has some of his humanity still attached."

Caroline nodded in agreement. During their relatively short time together, Klaus had been nothing but kind to her. "And what about the rest of the royal family? Where will they be?"

Damon thought for a moment about the last time he had actually seen the members of the Original family. "I believe Klaus will be inviting them to the unveiling, but I'm not sure yet. Finn is helping Kol take care of security, Rebekah will most likely show up, and Elijah..." Damon shook his head at that one. "I honestly don't think Elijah will be invited. He is rarely mentioned as he and Klaus are on the outs."

"Do you mind if we take this?" Lexi asked.

Damon nodded, but put a hand on her arm to keep her from moving at that exact moment. "I've been thinking about the potion that you'll be using. For the vampires that are helping, what's in it for us? I mean, if this potion is designed to kill us, what's to keep us from accidentally ingesting it?"

Caroline was first to answer, but Damon saw the look pass between them. "It's a risk we're all going to have to take."

Damon nodded and stepped back, watching as they rolled up the scroll and stood up. "Thanks again, Damon. See you in a few days."

* * *

><p>When Lexi and Caroline returned to the base, they went straight to Bonnie. "What information did Damon have for you today?" she asked as they handed her the scroll.<p>

"The blueprints for the plant. He's going to gather some more information and we'll know when he knows. I just came to check on the status of the potion," Lexi said.

Bonnie nodded as she casually looked over the blueprints. "It's almost ready. It's quite massive and while the four of us are strong, our powers aren't infinite. It will be ready by the time you need it though. I promise."

Lexi nodded and as her lips parted to say something else, there was a knock at the door. "Hey Bonnie, I- Oh. Hi Lexi," Elena said, stopping after a few steps. "I'll come back."

"I was just leaving."

Once she was gone, Bonnie smiled. "Need me to respell the amulet?"

"Please?" Elena asked as she took it off and handed it to the young witch. She watched as Bonnie started chanting and after a few seconds she handed it back to Elena. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, just be careful," she warned and Elena took her leave. Instead of going out in the hopes of seeing Damon right away, she headed towards Alaric's workshop. There, he and John were working on something that they stopped the moment she walked through the door.

"Did we have a session?" Alaric asked, looking at her with confusion.

"No, I just wanted to know if you guys would be interested in meeting the informant."

They exchanged glances with each other before shrugging. "It would be nice to put a name to the face. He has been helping us in the best way possible," John said.

"Is it safe for him to enter? What if someone follows him?" Alaric asked.

Before Elena could say anything, John added, "And I don't want you going out there to ask him either. Lexi tells me about your many scouting missions and I believe you were under strict orders to limit your time out of the safety of the barrier."

She rolled her eyes. "Hearing that is getting really old. You keep telling me that I'm a great fighter, that I'm one of the best you've ever trained. I'm good with the weapons and I know what I'm dealing with, yet, every time there's a mission of sorts you make me stay behind or treat me like a child. And then there's this big plan to poison the vampires by tampering the synthetic blood that you say I'm a big part of, but still won't let me go on the outings to actually let me help."

John stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder. "Look, to Alaric and I, you'll always be that little baby we've had to protect. You're right, you are important, but it is dangerous out there for you to go alone. We're not asking you to stay hidden forever, we're just asking you to be careful until the time is right."

"It's not just for your own good," Alaric said. "It's for the good of humans everywhere. Just trust us."

Elena sighed, but nodded. "I'll keep it in mind," she said and left before they could say anything else.

Instead of going back to her quarters like she knew they wanted her to, she went to seek Matt and Tyler. She found them in the vervain field doing the usual maintenance the people were scheduled to do. "What's up?" Matt asked as she approached.

"How would you two like to go out and get some real world experience?"

They exchanged a look and then nodded, grinning at her. "I would love to put the werewolf bite to the test," Tyler said, not bothering to keep his voice down. The vampires wouldn't come anywhere near the fields.

"Meet me at my quarters after your shift and we'll head out," she said and went to get supplies for their hunt.

* * *

><p>"For a world infested with vampires, I was expecting to see more," Tyler remarked as they walked through the abandoned buildings in search of a fight.<p>

"Does it usually take this long to see some action?" Matt asked.

"Sometimes," Elena replied. "It hasn't even been a half hour yet; give it time. Besides, this part of town isn't known for vampire traffic. The vervain field tends to repel them in combination with the barrier. Also, over there, there's a place where only those that are against the royal members go. It's kind of like neutral territory."

"Why do they tell you so much and leave the rest of us out in the cold?" Matt asked.

"Dude, really? Alaric builds all of our weapons, Lexi is practically her mother, Caroline is her best friend, and John is her father. Of course she's privy to sensitive information."

Instead of replying, Elena held up her hand to stop them as the dial in the compass stopped moving, indicating a vampire to their left. She and Matt looked to Tyler who had his nose to the air and nodded for confirmation. "I can't tell how many, but there's definitely more than one," he said, keeping his voice low.

"Get your weapons ready and do _not _get killed," Elena hissed, looking specifically at Matt.

He held up his hand to show her the ring she had taken. "As long as they kill me, I'll come back. Chill."

She narrowed her eyes at him and did a double take as she saw Tyler stripping down to his undergarments. He saw her staring and simply winked along with giving her a wolfish grin. Elena rolled her eyes and reached down for the stake in her boot and the dart in her back pocket. When Tyler had completed his change, she gave them both a nod and they split up to search for the vampires.

It didn't take long to find one. As she rounded a corner she came face-to-face with one. She was prepared for an immediate attack, but the vampire hesitated and looked at her as if they knew her. "Your majesty?" she questioned, still looking puzzled.

Elena was just as confused, but snapped out of it before the vampire and launched her stake at the heart. "Nope," she replied and ran to collect the stake from the now ashen corpse as it collapsed to the ground, a look of shock still on its face.

She looked at the compass again and it was pointing back at the way she had come from. Elena placed the compass back in her pocket and ran back to find Matt grappling with two vampires. She hid behind the corner, watching him battle. He was doing pretty good on his own. Just as he had staked one, the other was coming up from behind him with his fangs barred. Elena stepped out from behind the corner and launched her dart at him. He hissed and sank to the ground, his skin boiling from inside out from the vervain coursing through his system. She walked over to Matt and they watched as the vampire shriveled up and died next to his companion.

"That was-" Matt started, but was interrupted by a wolf's howl.

The two of them raced in the direction of the noise and found Tyler standing in wolf form over a vampire that had been shredded to pieces. Elena and Matt cringed a little at the carnage before their eyes. There was a noise and Elena saw a vampire fleeing from the corner of her eyes. As she started to run after him, Tyler grabbed her arm, having changed back into a human.

"I bit him. He won't live much longer."

She nodded. "We should get back in case they decide to send more."

They nodded in agreement and the three of them started running towards the colony, smiling at their victories for the night.


	10. Chapter 10

**a/n: you're welcome ;)**

TEN

Damon and Isobel stopped mid conversation, their attention turned towards the loud crash they heard coming from the main entrance of the mansion. Without consulting one another, they both bolted from the room to find Stefan clutching his neck as he staggered into the mansion. Damon caught him as his knees gave out and met Isobel's worried gaze. "Get Katherine." She nodded and blurred out of sight. "What happened, Stefan?"

"There were two humans and a werewolf. They came out of nowhere and killed my four scouts. They had weapons and they knew how to fight. The wolf bit me."

Damon exposed more of the wound and his lip curled. He had heard legends of what a werewolf bite would do to a vampire, but he had never seen anyone affected by it. He was drawn from his own thoughts as Katherine's scream pierced his ears, making himself and Stefan cringe. "What the hell happened?" she shrieked as she rushed to Stefan's other side.

"He was bit by a wolf."

Damon saw her eyes get wide with fright and she looked at Isobel. "Get Klaus. Now!" she demanded.

Isobel disappeared from sight once again and Damon stepped back to let Katherine fuss over his brother. "They came out of nowhere," Stefan muttered.

Katherine cupped his face and cradled him to her as he began to shake. "Once you're better, Damon will take a larger scouting party to find that bastard wolf and bring him here so I can wear his pelt as a coat."

"What is all the commotion?" Klaus asked as he and Isobel appeared in the foyer.

"Klaus, Stefan needs your blood. He has suffered a wolf bite," Katherine explained.

"Where was the wolf?" Klaus asked as he knelt next to Stefan and Katherine.

"Down by Anna's. He was with two other humans," he explained and then convulsed as a wave of pain coursed through him. "You can cure this?" he asked, his voice filled with pain.

"I am the offspring of the Original witch and the first lycanthrope. With the help of Esther, I was able to become the Original and only hybrid. My blood is the only cure for a werewolf bite inflicted on a vampire. Without it you will suffer great hallucinations and a bloodlust unlike any other that you will never satisfy. Then you will experience great pain followed by your final death." He then bit into his wrist and offered it to Stefan. "So I suggest you take this."

Damon and Isobel watched as Stefan's wounds began to heal from drinking Klaus's blood. It was good to know that there was a cure for the legendary werewolf venom and that the legend was true. Once he was healed, Katherine pulled him to his feet and looked at Damon and Isobel. "I meant what I said. Take the best soldiers and patrol that area ruthlessly." Damon nodded and went with Isobel to assemble a patrol team and carry out their orders.

* * *

><p>After a full twenty-four hour intense search of the area and a full debriefing with Katherine and Klaus, Damon and Isobel were able to call off the patrol. After blowing off some steam by gorging on Donors and getting some rest, Damon used the distraction of Stefan's recuperation to slip out of the mansion and head to the warehouse where he kept running into Elena. He wasn't at all surprised to find her there.<p>

"Let me guess, it was you and your friends out here the other night."

Elena nodded. "I knew Tyler wanted to test the legend of the werewolf bite, but I wasn't exactly okay with him letting one get away."

"It's actually a good thing that you let that one get away. He is one of the queen's favorites and if he had been killed, the plan we've been working so hard to execute would have been foiled."

"Speaking of, the vampire I killed recognized me. I'm not sure how, but she called me your majesty."

Elena saw the emotions wash over Damon for a split second before his eyes hardened telling her that his guard was up. She knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. "You need to be more careful."

She rolled her eyes, but nodded. "After the other night, yes. I realize it was foolish, but it just proves that our training is working and we're slowly winning."

Damon took a deep breath and stared at her. "I should be getting back."

"Come to the base with me," she blurted before he could vanish.

"Elena-"

"Please? I know you said you wanted plausible deniability, but there are people that want to meet you and I really want to show you around. The last time you were there was the time I got you with the dart the first time when I was thirteen, right?"

He nodded and sighed, knowing he couldn't say no to her about this anymore. "Fine, I'll come with you, but not for very long."

She nodded, smiling gleefully. "Thank you," she said and led the way.

* * *

><p>Once they were behind the barrier, Elena led him quickly through the maze of buildings until she entered into a room filled with weapons. There was a woman sitting at a table going over some notes and Elena looked disappointed to see her there. "Where's Alaric?" she asked.<p>

The blonde stared at her with worry. "He and John went to help bring in a large group from another colony that Jeremy found on a scouting mission. Didn't they tell you?"

Elena stared to shake her head and then remembered John having mentioned it that morning, but her mind had been too preoccupied to understand at the time. "Yeah, they did."

"Who is this?" the girl asked, nodding towards Damon, her hand slightly moving towards a crossbow.

"Oh, sorry. Uh, Jenna, this is Damon our informant from the inside. Damon, this is Jenna, one Alaric's helpers."

Jenna smiled and stood up, not looking at the weapon again. "Pleasure to meet you and thank you for everything."

He nodded at her. "Nice to meet you too," he returned.

"I'm going to show him around, I'll talk to you later," she said and led Damon out of the armory.

"You knew they were gone?"

"I forgot. They told me after the attack and my mind was elsewhere."

"You wanted me to meet them specifically, right?"

She stared at him in a way that told him he was still not going to be able to leave no matter what he tried. "Yes, but you're already here. You might as well let me show you around." He nodded and allowed her to give him a tour of the colony. He couldn't help but let his curiosity take over on this one.

* * *

><p>Damon's head was reeling from the amount of information Elena had dumped on him. He was surprised at how big the colony was and how much it had grown since he had last been here. There were multiple training facilities, a huge vervain field that he was only able to see from a distance, and a whole city block full of trade shops such as blacksmiths and the like. It was like a human town would have been in the Middle Ages just with modern embellishments and magic touches. What really sent his mind ablaze was the amount of weapons Alaric had created in a relatively short time span. Between this man and the witches, the vampires had a surprise in store for them. However, out of all the things Elena had showed him, something still didn't quite make sense.<p>

"Explain to me how your population has grown so much in such a short amount of time and why I don't see as many infants as I should."

Elena smiled at him from the other side of her living room. "The witches came up with a solution for that a few years ago. Yes, people still have sex and reproduce the way they have been doing for thousands of years, but magic has sped up the process. In order to build up an army to the size that we need, women are given a potion the day after sex takes place. It ensures that they conceive and excellerates the baby's growth rate. It only takes two days after sex for a woman to give birth. The potion stays within the child and in a single day they age one year until day twenty. By then the history and education that they need to know has been imprinted on their brain and they are ready to be trained to fight and the potion has worn off so they are able to grow naturally. And then the process starts over again."

"That doesn't seem healthy."

"It's temporary; only until we accomplish our goal and get to take control of Earth again. There are also rules. We don't want a bunch of half siblings out there so the number of partners you can impregnate are limited."

Elena saw Damon's face and the hesitation on his lips; it made her grin.

"Yes, I've had sex before. Humans still do that for pleasure and no, I haven't had any children. Bonnie said I can't use the potion because there's something in my blood that prevents it."

"What about the childhood that these people are missing out on?"

"Once we're free to live out of the shadows, those people can have families of their own and raise their children the right way. They understand that their childhood was sacrificed so that their children could enjoy theirs freely."

"Because that's what's imbedded in their minds via the potion."

Elena sighed. "Yes and no. Look, it's complicated and morbid to think about, I know, but it's necessary. Let's just drop it, shall we?"

He nodded. "A change of subject would be nice."

"Now would be a good time to bring up our kiss."

Damon stared at her, trying to hold back a smirk, but failing miserably. "That was a mistake," he said.

She nodded and got up. She made her way to him and straddled his waist, placing her hands on the sides of his face, a smirk of her own on her lips. "A mistake that neither one of us would mind repeating again," she said and after no signs of a protest, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his as she had the other night.

The kiss started off as slow and exploratory, but it didn't take long for things to escalate. Elena's hands moved from the side of his face up to his hair so that she could grab it as an anchor. Damon moved is hands to her hips and gripped her tightly enough to leave bruises. She hissed from the sensation of both pain and pleasure and involuntarily flexed her hips. The action elicited a groan from Damon as he hardened from the feel of her against him. He felt his resistance fading as Elena pulled her lips away from his and began to kiss her way down the column of his throat. It was when he felt the faint scrape of her blunt teeth across his skin that he noticed her hands had made their way to his waist.

His head fell back as her fingers undid the fly and then dipped behind the waistband of his pants to feel him. His fingers involuntarily dug further into her sides and he felt her smile against his skin. The feel of her hand gently stroking him made him realize just how long it had been since he had been in this situation. It was then that he brought one of his hands up to the side of her face, drawing her lips back to his. During a frenzied kiss, his other hand moved to slide down her stomach and behind her undergarments. She moaned into the kiss as his fingers found her center and he began to tease her.

Simultaneously they began moving faster and faster, both of them sensing that their releases were near. Damon wanted nothing more than to move them to the bed and remove all of their clothes in order to bury himself within the walls of her body that clutched his fingers. However, he was too close to losing control and the move sounded risky. Elena's head fell back and she moaned loudly. Damon moved his lips to her neck and realized what a mistake that was. He could feel her heated skin and the blood that rushed wildly beneath it. He forced himself not to bite her, something that took more restraint than he thought he had, especially when her moans began to increase. Just as he thought he would give in, they both stopped moving as they came together.

When things started to calm down, Elena brought her lips over Damon's again before she rested her head against the crook of his neck. He wasn't sure what to do or what to say, but he knew he couldn't stay much longer. Luckily, Elena realized that as well and pushed herself to her feet. "I guess you need to go now."

He nodded and stood up as well. She moved to open the door for him, but he stopped her by pulling her in for one last searing kiss. When he broke it off, he left his forehead pressed against hers. "I'll be back," he promised and then he was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

ELEVEN

Damon was sitting in his favorite chair with a glass of his favorite liquor in his hand. He couldn't stop thinking about Elena and the intimacy they had shared barely twenty-four hours before. He had sent his patrol team out without him as he was too distracted to do anything and he didn't need them to notice and report it to Katherine. As he thought about going out to see if Elena was at the warehouse, there was a knock at the door. Instead of waiting for him to answer it, Stefan let himself in and shut the door behind him.

"Brother," Damon greeted, not bothering to get up.

"I need to share something with you."

"If it's about Katherine, I really could care less."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "It's not exactly about Katherine."

That got Damon's attention. He tried his best not to tense up or give any indication that he might know what Stefan was referring to. Instead, he gestured to the chair across from him and Stefan sat. "What do you mean?"

"The other night when I was attacked, there was a girl," he started and shook his head as though he knew whatever he was about to say would sound crazy. "She was one of the humans and I didn't see her until I was already running away, but I thought..." He stopped and swallowed thickly. "I really thought it was Katherine."

Damon let that sink in before he replied. He shrugged his shoulders and offered a sympathetic look. "I'm not saying you didn't see it, but Klaus did say the wolf venom gives us hallucinations."

Stefan nodded solemnly. "I know, but I just can't shake it."

"Look, Isobel didn't have any children. It might have been a girl that resembled Katherine; dark hair and eyes aren't exactly a rare combo. Maybe you were scared and you wanted to see Katherine so you imagined her there."

Stefan sat back in the chair and took a deep breath. "I guess," he replied and shook his head again. "You're probably right; there's no way it was a look-alike. I bet it really was my mind playing tricks on me."

Damon stood up and poured Stefan a drink. He handed the glass to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just don't bring it up to Katherine. She's already stressed as it is with the blood getting ready to hit the market."

Stefan nodded. "I wasn't planning on it. I just needed to tell someone and I knew you would talk me out of believing it," he said, slamming back the drink.

"Glad I could help," he returned as he went to pour them both another round.

As he and Stefan tossed it back, another knock at the door sounded. Damon opened it to Isobel and stepped back to let her in. "Oh, hey Stefan. I'll come back," she said and began turning around.

"No, it's alright, I was on my way out," Stefan said and set his empty glass on the liquor cart. "And hello to you too, Isobel. Thanks again, Brother," Stefan added on his way out, closing the door behind him.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked as he saw the worry on Isobel's face. She bit her lip in hesitation and then tilted her ear towards the door. Damon had a hunch about what she wanted to talk about and extended his ear towards the hall as well. "No one's around. You can speak freely," he said in a light tone.

Isobel visibly relaxed. "I just can't help but think about my family with all of the raids going on. I know you and I have an understanding about not speaking about them, but I overheard you and Stefan arguing about him seeing you with Lexi a week or so ago. I kept trying to ignore it, but I just can't. I have to know... Did she say anything about them?"

Damon tried his best to keep calm and not give her any signs as he shook his head. "I didn't ask and she didn't say anything. It was a very brief encounter." He hated himself for lying to her, especially given what had happened the night before. He was having interactions with her daughter and he was lying to her, denying he knew of her existence outside of that night almost twenty-one years ago. "I'm sorry."

Isobel nodded in defeat and Damon saw the tear that escaped her eye. He moved forward and cupped the side of her face, using the pad of his thumb to wipe it away. "It was a long shot anyway," she said and moved away from his touch. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Isobel-"

"I should have known that if you did find out something about them you would tell me right away," she said and met his gaze evenly. "Right?"

"Of course," he replied and offered her a light smile that he hoped didn't convey as forced.

She nodded and then cleared her throat. "And now that that's out of the way, I came to get you for our patrol."

Damon sighed. "Where are we to be stationed this time?"

"The abandoned factories downtown."

"Again?" he questioned. He hated patrolling there as it was so close to the human colony.

"That's where the majority of the attacks have been coming from this month so Katherine wants a heavy rotation there just to be safe."

It was then that the vampires under Damon's command showed up. "Sir, there's been a report of a large human group in our area."

"Large?" he questioned.

"Five of them. Only one causality for us so far, but Frederick is on their trail and he sent me to get back up."

"Let's go," he said and the group was on their way.

* * *

><p>The group split up in order to cover more space and Damon was using more of his hearing than ever before to make sure that the people that were found, if any, weren't Elena. Distracted by his intense listening, Damon was brought back to reality as someone grabbed him and threw him against a building. Before he even had time to react, there were lips pressed against his and the felt his urge to lash out dissipate as he realized it was only Elena. She pulled back and looked around to make sure that they were alone.<p>

"What the hell are you doing out here?" he hissed.

She looked taken aback by his tone. "There were a few others that heard about what Matt, Tyler, and I did and they wanted some of the glory for themselves. They snuck into the armory and came out here. I came out here to bring them back since it was my fault they're out here in the first place."

"There's a patrol looking for them right now."

She nodded. "I saw one of the girls being taken by one of your men."

"Did the vampire see you?"

She shook her head. "I doubt it. He was too preoccupied celebrating his victory," she said, her voice filled with disgust.

He knew she was talking about Frederick and he simply nodded. Before he could say anything else on the matter, he heard someone headed their way. "You need to get out of here. Now. Go back to the colony."

"I'm not leaving without the others."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen, they're not going to believe that a human got away from me again and I can't come back with another dart injury. It will raise too many questions. You need to leave."

"Come with me."

"Elena-"

"Then meet me when you finish your patrol. I want to know what happens."

Damon gave in and nodded. "I'll meet you in the tunnel. Now please leave."

Elena nodded and moved to kiss him again before taking off. With her gone, he went to rejoin the others. He found Isobel, Henry, and Trevor standing over a stack of bodies. There were two human underneath a shriveled up vampire corpse that was Carter. "Frederick took one of the female survivors back to the mansion. There's another one that passed out from fear over there. Permission to take him as well," Trevor requested.

Damon nodded and he went to grab the male human before rushing off. "That's four humans. What of the last?"

"He got away," Isobel said, not elaborating at all. Damon gave her a curious expression because the tone of her voice told him that she was angry about something.

"What do we do?" Henry asked.

"You two take care of the bodies, I'll stay out a little longer. When you get back tell Katherine and Klaus I'll give them a full report upon my return," he said and took after after seeing the way Isobel narrowed her eyes at him.

* * *

><p>Damon waited until he was sure no one was around to follow him before he entered the tunnel. Once he was passed the barrier, he saw Elena pacing back and forth as she anxiously awaited his arrival. When she realized that he was there, she stopped moving and stared at him. "What happened?"<p>

"Two of the humans died, two of them were taken back to the mansion where I will presumably have to torture them, and one ran back here."

Elena blinked, the shock of learning of the humans' death making it hard to speak at the moment. "We have to tell Lexi."

"Elena-" he called after her as she turned to start running away.

Just as he started to go after her, two men appeared at the other end of the tunnel, a look of relief on their faces at the sight of Elena. "There you are. What the hell is going on?" one of them asked as the other did a double take at the sight of Damon.

Damon stared at them and he ill as realization kicked in. He was transported to the night he met Isobel because while their faces were a little older, it was definitely the same two men from that night. "What the hell are you doing here?" the other one asked and they pushed Elena out of the way to lunge at him.

Part of him didn't want to counter attack, but when he saw a vervain dart and a stake being pulled out, he knew he had no choice but to defend himself. "Stop it!" Elena yelled as she watched from the sidelines, not sure what to do.

The shorter one took a swipe at him, catching him in the side with the stake. Damon went down, but was able to move out of the way from what would have been a fatal blow. He groaned in pain as he felt the sting of vervain enter his system and stumbled to the ground. Elena tried to intervene again, but one of them pushed her back, causing her to fall. Just as he thought the fight was over, the men went flying backwards and the sight of Lexi and Caroline filled his vision.

Elena sped to his side to see if he was alright and she put his head in her lap. "What the hell is going on?" Lexi asked, staring at the two men.

"That's the man that killed Isobel. Don't you recognize him?" one asked.

"John-" Lexi said in a warning tone and Damon saw the confusion and disbelief in Elena's tear filled eyes.

"You're right, John," came another female voice from the entrance of the tunnel near the barrier. "Damon did kill me, but he also brought me back to life."

All heads turned to see Isobel standing there, staring at the rest of them.


	12. Chapter 12

**a/n: SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! I left a note on my profile that all of you should go take a look at, a shorter version of that is: After I finish WitS I'll be taking a very long, if not permanent break from Delena and fanfic in general so that I can work on my own stuff. I do have a FB /mayghaen if you want to chat about whatever and a fictionpress account that I'll be posting regular stuff to shortly.**

**Also, whoever has seen Daybreakers tell me in your reviews or PMs if my storyline is at all similar to that. I have an idea that I'll share with you guys later :)**

**And I've decided to just post every other day because I only have a few chapters to write before I'm finished :)**

TWELVE

"I-Isobel?" the taller man stammered after a very long bout of silence. Damon could see Lexi and Caroline let go of the men knowing that they weren't going to go after Damon at the moment. "You're alive?"

She smiled and nodded, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes as the men approached. The taller one, reached out and touched her face as though he couldn't believe it. "It's me, Alaric. It's really me."

Damon looked away as Alaric drew her into his arms. "How is that possible?" John asked, looking at Lexi.

Instead of waiting for someone to answer him, everyone's attention went to Elena as she stood up and moved closer to the newest female vampire. "Elena," Isobel whispered in disbelief and pure joy.

"That would make you my mother," Elena wondered aloud. Isobel nodded and smiled at the young girl.

Damon took that as a distraction and pushed himself to his feet. He grabbed Lexi and moved away from the reunion. "I'm not going to stay and watch this. Just promise me that you'll keep her here and tell her I'll be back."

"Damon, what is going on?" Lexi demanded to know.

"Elena said there were other humans that heard about what she and some others did the other night and decided to do the same thing only they weren't as prepared as they thought. Elena went after them, but it was during one of my patrols. Two of them were killed and two were taken back to the mansion. One of them was said to have gotten away, but I assume you haven't found him yet."

"So you came back here?" Caroline asked, making him aware of how foolish that decision had been.

He nodded anyway. "Elena asked me to so that I could fill her in on what happened. That's when John and Alaric showed up and started fighting with me. Then you showed up and then Isobel."

Lexi nodded and looked over his shoulder to check on the other four. "We'll let them have their reunion. We need to go search for the one that got away," she said and started to move, but stopped when Caroline spoke.

"What about the ones that were captured?" Caroline asked.

"I'm sure Katherine will make me interrogate them."

"Come with me," Lexi demanded and Damon hesitated. He looked back over his shoulder and Elena's gaze met his for a brief second. He noticed the questioning glance she gave him and he averted his eyes before rushing off after the blondes. When he caught up with her she held out her hand with two clear capsules. "Find out if they said anything and then give them these."

Damon was taken aback. "Poison?"

"Eventually the vervain will wear off and they won't have any resistance to compulsion. I can't break them out and if they were foolish enough to get caught, then this is their only option. We are days away from taking back the planet and I will not risk the lives of thousands for the lives of a few." She shrugged. "It's either that or you kill them and risk exposing yourself. Your choice," she said as she placed the capsules in his hand and closed his fingers around them.

He nodded and slipped them into his pocket. "Make sure Isobel stays here. I can't have her coming back to the mansion knowing about her family being here. I'll tell Katherine that she was hit with vervain and there was no body to bring back."

"I'm sure she won't object."

"Katherine will also be raising the amount of raids for a few days over this, I'm sure of it. When she starts to back off again I'll meet you at Anna's."

"Understood," Lexi said and inclined her head. "See you in a few days," she added and watched as he vanished from the colony. She then gestured for Caroline to follow her as they went in search for the sole survivor of the group Elena had been tracking.

* * *

><p>Katherine must have been notified of his return because Damon found her in the foyer the moment he walked in the door. She glanced over his shoulder for a brief second before taking in his appearance. "Where is Isobel? They said she went back to make sure the area was clear."<p>

He nodded. "It wasn't clear. She found me in the midst of a fight. The guy had a stake gun and got me in the side. Isobel went after him, but he had vervain." He swallowed thickly, making it seem as though he were disturbed. "I'm sorry Katherine, there was nothing left of her to bring back."

Instead of getting angry in true Katherine-like fashion, she continued to stare at him and said, "The prisoners are the in the holding rooms. I'm giving you lead on this one. They will be kept alive as Donors so don't hurt them too badly," she said and walked away to deal with the news of Isobel.

"She's dead?" Stefan asked, stepping out from around a corner.

Damon nodded, not wanting to talk about it. He figured he had lied enough to everyone for today. "Go make sure she doesn't do something stupid," he demanded. Luckily, Stefan understood that Damon wanted to be left alone and stopped following him.

He got to the holding room to see the two humans strung up by their wrists. Their ankles were tied to the floor so that they couldn't kick out and ropes bound their wrists as they were raised above their heads, attached to the ceiling. Their heads had fallen forward from exhaustion and blood loss and the sight of them made Damon sick. He had to force his emotions off for the time being.

He walked over to the man and yanked his head back by grabbing a fist full of his hair. "What is your name?" he asked, keeping his tone light.

"W-William," he replied, his voice weak and full of fear.

"And hers?"

"Andie."

"Any vervain in your system?"

Damon wasn't using his compulsion yet, but William was smart and kept his eyes shut anyway. He nodded as best he could with Damon still gripping his hair. "Yes."

"Has anyone else spoken with you?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell them anything?" There was no response and Damon checked to see that he had passed out. He took a deep breath and lashed out with his free hand, taking a chunk of flesh from the back of William's body. The pain made him wake with a scream. "Did you tell them anything?" Damon asked again.

"N-no."

He wasn't sure he believed William. Trevor had said that this one passed out from the fear of facing a vampire that was trying to kill him. Damon let go of William and moved to Andie. Her eyes were open and she was crying silently. "Did you tell them anything?" he asked her.

She shook her head lightly. "There's nothing to tell."

Damon looked her right in the eye. "Do you have any vervain in your system?" he asked, using his compulsion on her.

"No," she answered and pressed her lips together, indicating that she hadn't wanted to answer that at all.

"Good. I was instructed to inform you that there will be no rescue attempt and in order to keep the secret that I know you have, safe, I need you to take this," he said, taking out one of the capsules from his pocket. "Did you or William tell anyone anything?" he asked again, using compulsion this time.

"No," she whispered, her eyes glued to the pill in his hand.

"Open your mouth," he compelled her and inserted the capsule. "Now swallow."

He watched as more tears streamed down her face, but she did as she was told. Her body began to shake violently and he continued to stare until the light left her eyes and he was sure that she was dead. Then he turned his attention to William and before the human could even protest, Damon forced the capsule down his throat and forced him to swallow it. In a matter of seconds the same thing happened to William and just like that he was gone.

Damon stepped back as his emotions came back on. As he realized how close he had come to losing everything tonight, the door to the holding room opened and Katherine came in followed by Stefan. She sighed as she inspected the bodies. "I thought I told you to keep them alive?" she deadpanned.

"The boy was so frightened he gave himself a heart attack and the girl was dead when I walked in. Too much blood loss."

"Did he say anything of use?" she asked, accepting his explanation. Damon shook his head and she sighed. "Get someone to clean up this mess and get some rest. Tomorrow we start organizing more raids," she said and left as suddenly as she had entered.

"Go get some rest, I'll take care of this," Stefan said, having stayed behind.

"Stefan-"

"It's okay, Damon," he assured him and Damon chose not to protest again.

"Thank you," he said and took his leave.

* * *

><p>Lexi pounded on the door of Meredith Fell until she opened it. It was clear that she had been woken from a deep sleep, but Lexi didn't care. "What do you- Logan?" she gasped when she saw her brother in the vampire's arms. "What happened?"<p>

"He and four of his friends decided to take some weapons and test out their fighting skills."

"Oh God."

"He's not that bad. I found him passed out just inside the barrier. Most of the blood doesn't belong to him and he has no visible wounds. He's going to be fine, Meredith, I just thought I would bring him home."

"What about the others?" Meredith asked as she knelt by Logan after Lexi placed him on the couch.

Lexi gave a slight shake of her head. "Two were taken captive and won't make it to morning and the other two were killed on site by vampires on patrol."

Meredith placed her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea he would do something so stupid."

Lexi shook her head. "I will be talking with him in the morning, but for your sake, it wasn't entirely his fault. Elena, Matt, and Tyler decided to the do the same thing a few nights ago and they were successful."

Meredith reached for Logan's hand and squeezed it as she looked at Lexi. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome. Get some rest," she demanded and left the pair alone.


	13. Chapter 13

**a/n: as promised, pure Delena ;)**

THIRTEEN

As Damon was returning to his room, he found Stefan pacing outside of it. "Something wrong?" he asked, making his presence known.

Stefan looked up and nodded. "No, just came to talk."

Damon nodded and walked into his room with Stefan close behind. "What did you need to talk about?" he asked.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

Damon stared at him for a moment and realized he must be talking about Isobel's alleged death. "I'm fine."

Stefan shook his head in disbelief. "You don't have to lie to me, Damon. I know you were said when Caroline was exiled, but-"

"I was not sad. She annoyed me more than anything," Damon interrupted. He enjoyed her company for the most part, but that girl talked more than anything. He was sure after the plan had taken place she would go back to being chatty again.

"Either way, Isobel is dead. I know she's only been around for two decades, but you guys were pretty inseparable. Her death has to have affected you."

"It has," he assured Stefan.

Stefan sighed in frustration. "Fine, you're emotions are off, I get it, but when you turn them back on I just want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk."

"Thank you," Damon said and went to gather his things for his patrol.

"Katherine is backing off the patrols. It's been three days and nothings come of the searches. You don't have to go out there tonight."

"I'm doing this for myself," he said, wanting to make sure that whoever was patrolling didn't find anything they weren't supposed to.

Stefan nodded. "Do you want some company?"

He wanted to say yes, but it would have defeated the purpose, especially since Stefan had already seen Elena once before. "Not this time, Brother, but again, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said and followed Damon back out into the hall. "Be careful out there."

Damon nodded and waited until Stefan was gone before entering Isobel's quarters. He opened the sack he had brought with him and began throwing clothes and other essentials in them. He was sure the witches could get anything she asked for, but he had nothing better to do. When he was done, he headed off to the warehouse where he was half hoping Elena wasn't there and half hoping that she was. The moment he entered the building he could tell that she was there, even if she was wearing the charm that prevented him from hearing her heart beat or smell her, he just _knew_.

As if on cue, she stepped out of the shadows, holstering the stake she had been holding onto just in case. He sighed as he saw her. "What are you doing here?" he asked. He knew the question was getting old, but he thought for once she would listen.

"I haven't been here every night if that's what you're really asking. Tonight the patrols weren't as heavy so I took a chance to see if you would be here." She shrugged. "And I was right."

"I just came to drop this off for Isobel," he said, setting the bag down by his feet.

"And then what? Just walk away like you did the other night?"

Damon cringed at the anger in her voice. "I didn't want to interrupt the reunion."

"How considerate of you."

"Elena-"

"She told us everything about what happened that night and what happened since then. She said that you-"

He sped over to her and laid a hand over her mouth. "If we're going to have this conversation, we are not going to have it here," he warned, keeping his voice low.

She nodded and he stepped back. "My place it is," she said and turned to lead the way, knowing that he would follow her.

They made their way through the town and the colony as quietly as they could, not wanting to be spotted. Once they were behind a closed door, they both seemed to relax. After taking off the amulet, Elena gestured for him to sit in the chair that he had the last time he was there and the memory of what happened washed over him. As he took his seat he noticed the way the corners of her lips twitch, indicating that she was reliving that memory as well.

"She told me that Katherine ordered you to turn her and that you kept her secret of having a child all these years. Yet, no one will tell me why that part of the story is so important. Obviously no one wanted me to be killed, I don't want that either, but there has to be something else."

Damon heard her, yet he ignored it as he focused in on the fact that she didn't seem to be lashing out at him for keeping the secret of her mother from her. "You're not mad," he stated, unable to keep quiet.

She shrugged. "I was a little mad at first, but Isobel kept telling me about all the things that you did for her and I thought of all the things you've done for me and the rest of the people here and I found nothing to be mad at. My mother is alive, more or less, and I got to meet her. She's here now and I have no intention of letting her disappear again." She shrugged again and then stared at him. "But you still didn't answer me about what everyone's been keeping from me."

"There's nothing-"

"I understand why everyone else wants to keep that information from me. They're all parent figures and they want to keep me safe because they still see me as a child. You don't see me as a child, Damon. You see me for me. I don't care what it is, just tell me," she pleaded, coming over to him.

He stood up and took her hands in his. "The night that I met and turned Isobel, I was on a scouting mission for Katherine. I came across you and your family and somehow Isobel got separated from you. It was too late for her to escape so Lexi helped the others and I stayed with Isobel. Katherine and Stefan were there before I could do anything and Katherine explained that Isobel was her last descendent. She told us that she had been tracking them since she was a young vampire, especially after she heard the prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Elena asked, looking up at him.

He nodded and let her hands slip from his grasp, turning away from her as he explained the last part. "Should a doppelganger be born, she will lead an army of humans against the vampires and end their reign of terror over Earth. They will take back what is rightfully theirs and Katherine would be killed. When she found Isobel, she compelled her to tell her if she had any children, but the small amount of vervain enabled her to lie. Since then Katherine's thought she was free from harm."

Elena arched a brow in confusion. "What's a doppelganger exactly and who is Katherine?"

"Isobel didn't mention her?"

"She did, but I want to know who she is to you," she elaborated, folding her arms over her chest.

Damon tried his best to hold back a smirk at the jealous tone of her voice. "A doppelganger is a complete lookalike. It's when two people who look exactly alike are alive at the same time. One is usually considered good and the other bad and both being alive at the same time is a bad omen. It means that one of them will die when they come into contact with each other. And Katherine..." Damon hesitated before explaining this part. "Katherine is the queen of the vampires, at least in Klaus's territory which happens to be the biggest. She is the one that turned my brother and I and while I was infatuated and obsessed with her at one time, she is now just a royal pain in my ass."

Elena's smile vanished from her face as she processed the part about Katherine, just as Damon thought it would. "I look exactly like her?"

Damon nodded. "That's all."

"And you two..." she swallowed thickly and Damon took a step forward, only to have her take one back. "So this whole time you were seeing me, you were-"

"No," he interrupted in a tone that said he was dead serious. "It was nothing like that. I fell for you, Elena, I didn't fall for Katherine."

She blinked in surprise. "You fell for me?"

Damon's mouth opened to reply, but he froze, realizing what he just said and realizing it was the truth. "I never once pretended that you were Katherine and I would never do that. She was as I said; an obsession and an infatuation, one that quickly wore off. I had no choice in staying by her side. If I had had one, I would have left long ago." He shrugged and took another step towards her, feeling elated when she held her ground. "The more time we spend together, the more I find myself wanting to spend even more time with you, Elena. It's because I'm falling in love with you."

Elena didn't know what to say, so instead of saying anything, she closed the distance between them and brought his lips down to hers for a searing kiss. Her hands relaxed against his cheek once she realized he wasn't going to pull away. To assure her of that fact, he put his hands on her hips and surged forward until he had her pinned between his body and the wall. She grunted with pain and pleasure as her back bounced off the wall, allowing her to feel his swollen cock against her midriff.

Slowly, she let her hands slide down his chest as she had the last time they had been in this position. Damon growled low in his throat as her fingers began to undo the fly of his pants and then slowly push them off of his hips. Without any warning, she broke the kiss and sank to her knees before him, taking him into her mouth in one fell swoop. Damon's eyes fluttered from the sensation and he placed his hands on the wall in front of him to brace himself. He looked down to see Elena taking more of him into her mouth. The sight of her in combination of the tricks she was doing with her tongue were enough to make him lose it right then and there.

Damon reached down and pulled her back to her feet, capturing her lips with his once more. His hands moved to her waist and her untucked the material of her shirt in order to remove it from her. The moment it was gone, he began kissing his way down her exposed skin, stopping to scrape at her flesh every so often. It had been a long time since he had been with a willing human that actually enjoyed the fact that he was vampire. The thought of whether or not she would let him bite her made him dizzy with want. Shaking that thought aside, he continued his ministrations and began to remove the clothes that covered her bottom half.

He nudged her thighs apart a little before he placed a variety of kisses around the area he knew was truly craving his touch. Just as he thought she would go mad, his tongue slid the length of her slit, eliciting a low moan from Elena. Damon sucked the bundle of nerves into his mouth and alternated various techniques as his fingers found their way inside her body. He continued until he knew she was on edge and then stood back up.

He smirked at the way she pouted, but it was quickly replaced by a gasp as he used his vampiric speed to remove the rest of their clothing and get them to the bed. When reality caught up with her, Elena saw Damon lying atop of her, cradled between her thighs, and poised at her entrance. She reached up and brought his lips to hers once again. This time the kiss was sweet and when she broke it off to whisper, "I'm falling in love with you too, Damon," he knew that there was no going back.

They both hissed in unison as he slid himself all the way in. He shuddered as her inner walls clutched at him, trying to draw him in even further. Once they were used to the feel of each other, he began setting a pace of thrusts. Their bodies had no trouble synchronizing to one another and having been drawn so close to the edge before, it hadn't taken them long to near their climaxes. Elena panted as her head ground against the blanket beneath her, exposing her throat. Damon's lips sought it out automatically and this time he couldn't stop his fangs from descending against her skin. One of her hands moved to the back of his head as if to keep him from moving, almost as if telling him to do what he needed to.

Damon didn't need any more encouragement. He reared his head back and sank his fangs into her neck. The moment her blood touched his lips his head exploded and judging from the sounds that came out of her mouth, she was reaching impossible highs herself. The blood burned its way through his body and oddly enough, the vervain did nothing to dull the euphoria. In a way, it added to the experience.

When the last bits of pleasure dissipated, Damon collapsed on top of her, lapping up the excess blood around her throat. They both panted for air and he enjoyed listening to the way her heart beat erratically in her chest. Damon felt Elena's arms wrap around him and he pressed a faint kiss into her skin. As they began winding down, Damon heard the change in her breathing, indicating that Elena was falling asleep. He knew he shouldn't stay much longer, but the thought of leaving was dreadful. Instead, he let himself drift off to sleep with her.


	14. Chapter 14

**a/n: Definitely a filler chapter...**

**Also, I've decided that this story is the one that I'll be turning into my own novel. If anyone is interested in helping me with that project, I would love your input and I'll message you full details of what I'm looking for****:)**

FOURTEEN

Damon tried to pay attention as he and the others gathered to put more of the plan together, but Elena was standing on the other side of the table, giving him that knowing grin. Instead of listening, he found himself wandering to their night together twenty-four hours ago; the morning after sticking with him the most.

_Elena's eyes opened as she felt Damon's hand stroking her cheek. She smiled and licked her lips. "You're still here," she said, her voice filled with sleep and surprise._

_ "There truly isn't any place else I want to be," he assured her._

_ "But you have to go."_

_ He gave a curt nod. "I have to check in." He moved closer to her so that he could kiss her one last time before sliding out of bed to redress. "But I will be back," he promised._

_ "That's all that matters," she said lightly and watched him as he came back to her for another kiss. This time, when he pulled away again, he didn't say anything. He simply smiled at her and vanished from sight._

"Damon?" Caroline's voice interrupted his thoughts and from the way everyone was staring at him, he could tell it wasn't the first time they had tried to get his attention.

"Is there something better you have to do?" Lexi asked.

"Depends on who you ask," he replied and smirked as Elena looked down to hide a smirk of her own.

"This isn't a joke," John said from his side of the table.

Damon stared at him. "I know this isn't a joke. I risk everything by coming here to help you. Without me you would most certainly be caught. You don't know what is going on with the royals and I assure you that it is enough to keep me distracted. However, if you'd like, I'd be happy to show you."

John moved in attempt to go after Damon, but Isobel blocked him and shoved him back. "Both of you knock it off. He's right though, John. He risks everything by being here. You have no idea what Katherine is like. She's killed people for looking at her wrong much less going behind her back." Lexi and Caroline nodded to confirm her story. "Damon, I believe Lexi asked you if you had heard about an exact release date yet."

All eyes returned to him and he nodded. "One week from tonight it will start being bottled and headed to the markets across the world. Until that time, the facility making the synthetic blood will be working out the last of the kinks. If we're going to strike, it should be within the next few days."

"Bonnie, are you ready?" Lexi asked, looking towards the witches.

"We will be ready in a day or two. We just have to conjure the last main ingredient, incorporate it, and we'll be ready."

"Then, does everyone understand what their roles and responsibilities are?" After a series of nods, Lexi smiled and stood back. "Dismissed," she added and the room began to clear out.

Damon waited until everyone else was gone except for Elena. "Do you have to go right away?" she asked.

"Not really."

"Good."

He smiled as she reached down to take his hand in hers. "What was on your agenda for the day?" he asked.

"I wanted to see if you would be willing to meet some of my friends and I was hoping, now that the tension has passed, that you and my fathers could actually meet in a civilized manner."

"That's up to them," he said. "But yes to your friends."

"They'll get over it. I understand why they hate you; they're harboring a rage from twenty years ago when they thought you killed Isobel. She's alive now, she's not going anywhere, and you're seeing me; they have to get over it eventually."

Damon smiled and leaned down to kiss her lips the way he had been wanting to ever since he came into the meeting. "Friends first," he said when he broke apart. "I believe your father is still fuming over our verbal fight a few minutes ago."

She nodded and began leading him out of the meeting room. They walked at a semi-slow pace, hand-in-hand, until they reached the sparring area. There were many people practicing with hand to hand combat as well as handling weapons. There were vampires sparring vampires, vampires and humans, and humans with other humans. As Elena led him to two men fighting in the corner, Damon took a whiff and he instantly recognized the scent. "Wolf," he muttered.

She stopped and turned to look at him. "That would be Tyler. How did you know?"

"That night, the one that Tyler bit and let get away was my brother. How many wolves do you have?"

"Here? Not many. I believe we have four in total, but there's another colony like this one elsewhere that has many. From what Bonnie says they're doing their best to travel here. Hopefully they are able to make it when the real fighting starts."

By that time they were approaching the two gentlemen and they stopped fighting as they saw Elena. "Who's this?" the dark haired one asked.

"Tyler, this is Damon. Damon this is Tyler and Matt; the two that went on that hunt with me that night. Damon is our inside man that's been helping us."

Tyler's face lit up and he laughed. "Oh, this is the guy that you-"

"Tyler!" Elena hissed and punched his bicep hard enough to make him flinch.

"You talk about me?" Damon asked before he could stop himself.

"Not necessarily, but she's been awfully day dreamy lately and we figured it was some guy," Matt said, moving out of Elena's reach. "Either way, it's nice to meet you."

"Maybe you could spar us later and give us some pointers," Tyler asked.

"We'll see," Damon said.

"Get back to practice," Elena demanded and Damon smirked as he saw the look she gave them before grabbing his hand to walk away.

She led him to the armory where he could already hear Elena's three parents speaking amongst themselves. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, pulling her to a stop just outside the door.

She smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure."

He nodded and then followed her inside. The conversation stopped upon his arrival as all eyes turned to him, but only Isobel seemed happy to see him. "Nice to see you stuck around," Isobel said, giving him a smile.

John only grunted as a response and Isobel turned to narrow her eyes at him, but it was Elena who spoke on his behalf. "You never officially met the other day before you ever so rudely attacked him."

"Elena-" Alaric started in a warning tone.

"No, don't _Elena_ me," she pressed. "He was risking his life to come and meet the both of you specifically and you greeted him by trying to kill him. I understand why, I do, but did you even notice that he didn't put up a fight?"

John and Alaric looked at each other for a moment and Damon saw the way their shoulders slumped with guilt. "The last time we saw him was the last time we saw Isobel," John said through gritted teeth.

"You're entitled to feel however you want about him, but for the sake of pulling this plan off without a hitch, you're going to have to learn to work together," Elena stated and then gestured towards Damon. "Damon, this is John and Alaric. Guys, this is Damon, our informant."

Damon saw the way Isobel's eyes narrowed from the look Elena gave him and the way her fingers brushed against his. "Nice to meet you," Damon said.

There was a pause before Alaric moved closer to him and offered him a hand. "It's nice to meet you as well. Sorry about the other day."

"I understand."

"From what Isobel told me, if the other scout had found us that night we would not be here having this conversation."

Damon nodded curtly. He had often thought about what it would have been like if Stefan had found the group and not him. "Unfortunately, yes."

When it was clear that John wasn't going to say anything, Isobel stepped forward. "Damon, a word?"

He nodded and parted ways, leaving the three humans in the room. "What's up?" he asked her.

"You're sleeping with my daughter," she stated.

Damon stared at her for a long moment and then nodded once. "I'm in love with her, Isobel. I've never felt that way about anyone before."

Isobel's eyes widened in surprise. She wasn't expecting that reply at all. "I'm sorry, what?"

"It has nothing to do with her resemblance to Katherine. In fact, that deterred me a little in the beginning, but she's nothing like Katherine and for that I'm grateful."

Too stunned to give the lecture she had planned on giving him, Isobel simply nodded. "Well, in that case, don't fuck it up. You hurt her, I'll tear your heart out," she warned and headed back inside.

Damon didn't bother following her and was glad to see Elena coming out shortly after. "What was that about?"

"Isobel being your mother," he replied with a smile.

"Do you still have some time?" she asked, reaching down to link her fingers with his.

"I think I want to take Tyler up on his offer. I've never fought a wolf before; it would be interesting to see his skills."

Elena smiled. "Then I guess we'll go back to the training area."

As she started to walk away, Damon grabbed her and pulled her back. Her gasp of surprise was cut off as his lips descended over hers. She melted into him and he looped his arms around her, drawing her close. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers to whisper, "But there are other things I would rather do first. Elena grinned and kissed him again before leading the way back to her quarters.

* * *

><p>When it was time for Damon to go back, he regretted having stayed for so long. He found the more time he spent with Elena, the harder it was to leave her side. Especially since he knew there was a great chance that something could happen to them within the next few days. Yet, as she walked with him, hand-in-hand to the abandoned warehouse where they kept meeting, he found himself believing that this was meant to last longer than a few days. "This is where we really do have to part ways," he informed her.<p>

She sighed and looped her arms around his neck. "I know."

"You'll have to let me go," he said, a smirk on his face.

"I know," she replied again, a smile tugging her lips.

As he leaned in to kiss her goodbye, he felt something stir in the air. Elena must have noticed it too, because she pulled back and looked around. "What was that?" she asked.

Damon shook his head, "I'm not sure, but I should go and you should get back to the colony as fast as you can."

She nodded and turned to move before turning back to him. She wasn't about to leave without her kiss. After she pulled away, she smiled and disappeared from sight. Damon hoped she made it back safely because whatever was out there that gave him the chills didn't leave him with a good feeling.


	15. Chapter 15

**a/n: so this was not in my original outline at all, but a certain someone just really wanted to make an appearance and it actually fits in perfectly with the rest of the story :)**

FIFTEEN

Damon heard something outside his door as he was getting ready for the meeting Katherine demanded he attend. He stopped what he was doing and opened his door to see Rebekah and Stefan arguing over something. Damon rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, letting them both know that he was there. Rebekah turned and glared at him, but Stefan gave an awkward smile. "I was coming to see if you knew what it was about, but then I ran into Rebekah and I suddenly knew."

Damon shrugged. "Family reunions are never pleasant with the Original family."

"No," she replied. "They are most definitely not. But it has it's perks," she added, smirking at Stefan.

"Rebekah-" Stefan said in a low, warning tone.

"Please stop looking over your shoulder to see if that bitch is around. I don't care if she is my brother's queen, I will still sever her head from her shoulders if she tries to ruin my fun," Rebekah informed him. "She is the reason these family reunions are never fully attended and the reason that we had to separate in the first place. I would gladly remove her from Klaus' side. Caroline was a much better fit for him anyway."

Damon couldn't help but smirk, earning a worried glance from Stefan. "Has everyone else arrived yet?"

"Everyone that was going to," she said, meaning Elijah wasn't coming. It wasn't a complete shock, but it did put a slight damper on his plans.

"Well, then I guess we should go lest we should keep the queen waiting," Damon said, his sarcasm putting a smile on Rebekah's face.

"I guess we should," she replied and turned to follow Stefan as Damon closed his door.

* * *

><p>Elena waited until she had a clear shot to the tunnel to make a break for it. Now that she knew why no one wanted her to go beyond the barrier the others were making it harder for her to get out. It was as she reached the tunnel that she was cut off by Isobel. The vampire was standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her foot tapping lightly at the ground. "Going somewhere?" she asked.<p>

Elena rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm going to meet Damon."

"And you think that's a good idea because...?"

"I didn't say it was a good idea," Elena countered. She rolled her eyes again when Isobel responded by arching one of her brows. "Well I'm not going back to my quarters. I'm just going to find another way to sneak out when you're not looking."

Elena watched in confusion as Isobel began to smile. "I imagine what I'm feeling right now is exactly what Damon went through when I refused to obey him." She shook her head and moved to stand in front of Elena, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just be careful out there. The other Original family members should be here by now and if they catch you, it's over."

Elena nodded and smiled back. "I'll be careful; I promise," she said and then gave a slight nod before taking off for the warehouse. As she neared the meeting spot, the hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle and the odd sensation of being watched enveloped her as it had the last time she had been here. She tried to shake it off, but she couldn't help but feel as though something was wrong. Hoping Damon was already inside, she continued at a slightly faster pace until she was in the building. She headed to the room that they had dubbed theirs and frowned when she discovered it was empty. However, her mood perked up as the air shifted behind her and a smile took hold of her lips only to disappear as she turned around to see the person standing there was not Damon.

"I would advise against any sudden movements," the man instructed, his voice deep and smooth; almost hypnotic.

"Who are you?" she asked, trying to keep calm. She was glad that he couldn't hear her heart beat as it moved erratically in her chest cavity.

He smirked. "I believe I should be asking you that as you are most definitely Katerina."

"I asked first."

His smirk widened as he took a step forward. "My name is Elijah."

Elena instantly recognized his name, but couldn't remember why. She wracked her brain until she found the answer and it wasn't a pleasant one. "You're an Original," she breathed. If it wouldn't have meant her death, Elena was sure she would have passed out from the fear coursing through her body.

"And you are a living, breathing doppelganger that my dear brother and his queen think cannot exist."

Elena stared at him, unable to speak. She was even more alarmed as he began moving closer towards her and that she was unable to move.

"We will just have to wait for Damon to arrive. I would love to see how Katerina's latest smooth talker gets out of this one," he said and Elena's eyes closed as he moved towards her.

* * *

><p>Damon could sense that something was wrong as he got closer to the warehouse. Since he had sat down for the meeting Klaus had called he found himself becoming worried although he didn't know why. It took every bit of control he had not to blur through the streets until he found that Elena was safe, but he knew it was better if he took his time so that he would appear to be on patrol. However, the minute he slipped into the warehouse, he used his speed to get to the room where he knew Elena would be. The moment he crossed the threshold was the moment he discovered his worry hadn't been for nothing.<p>

"Elijah," he bit out, panic coursing through his system as he saw standing on the opposite side of the room, all of her weapons on the floor far away from her.

"Ah, just the man I was hoping to see," Elijah said, giving him a sly smile.

He moved to stand directly between Damon and Elena, giving Damon a daring stare. He knew better than to make any sudden movements around an Original, but he wasn't about to let an opportunity slip if it presented itself. Damon's eyes moved to Elena to inspect her and was surprised when he saw the lack of blood.

"She is unharmed," Elijah said. "For now."

"Let her go."

Elijah smiled and ignored him. "And to think I almost declined Niklaus's invitation. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to see the two of you sneaking around as if there wouldn't be a bounty on your head."

"No one knows you're here," Damon said flatly.

He shook his head. "I prefer to check out the area before I announce my presence. You never know when your beloved brother might be trying to kill you."

"Elijah-"

"I assume you've been able to keep her existence a secret because if I remember correctly, Isobel was the last descendent of Katerina. She told the queen herself that she had never had a child, yet, I have evidence to the contrary."

Damon said nothing as his eyes met Elena and was surprised to see that her eyes weren't filled with as much worry as he thought they would be.

"I wonder what Katerina would do if she were to learn of the doppelganger's existence."

That had Damon's attention snapping back to the Original before him. "You know exactly what she would do."

He inclined his head. "As do you which is why I'm offering you a choice, Damon. Tell me everything that you're planning and how the doppelganger is involved or I will turn her over to Katerina and Niklaus and let them gather the information they seek."

Damon knew if he said no, Elena would get hurt either way. He and Elijah had never been on bad terms before, but he had seen what the Original was capable of. "Promise me that you will not hurt her and I will tell you everything."

"Damon-" Elena started, but stopped when Damon narrowed his eyes at her.

"If I was going to hurt her, I would have done so already," he pointed out in a deadpan voice, but inclined his head again. "You have my word. I will not harm her, but she is to remain where she is until I've heard all the details."

Damon took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll start from the beginning."

Damon refused to look at Elena as he enlightened Elijah on the human revolution starting with the night he met Isobel. Elijah's face was unreadable as he took in all the information and deciding what to do with it. Elena watched the two and calculated all of her options. She desperately wanted her weapons back in case she had to use them. However, she remembered what Lexi and Isobel had told her about the Originals and how normal stakes would not kill them. As she accepted her defeat, Elena realized Damon was indeed telling Elijah everything.

"Within the next few days, we are planning on striking. We plan to invade the building where the synthetic blood is being made. We have a potion being made that will mask vervain until a time release spell goes off and kills vampires from the inside out. We are going to release the potion into the blood before it gets bottled and put on the market for the release."

Damon hated the fact that Elijah was hard to read. He couldn't even begin to guess what Elijah was making out of all of this, let alone what he was going to do with the information. "I would even be heavily rewarded for this information. I would not only have stopped a human revolution, but I would be handing over the doppelganger as well."

Elena drew a shaky breath as her heart began to pound wildly.

"Being the eldest brother, I feel the need to warn my family about their impending doom."

Damon swallowed thickly around a tight throat and moved his gaze to Elena's, silently saying his goodbye.

Elijah sighed and shrugged his shoulders casually. "I guess it's a good thing that my family will survive vervain poisoning. It will hurt like hell and weaken us very much, but only the wood of a white ash tree can end our immortality."

Damon blinked with confusion as he stared at Elijah.

"Niklaus deserves to be dethroned. Ever since he learned of his true nature he has been developing quite the ego. And Katerina..." his eyes hardened as he said her name. "Katerina deserves everything she has coming to her. She seduced her way to the top and stomped on everything good that she had to get there. If your plan results in her demise then I would be honored to help you complete it."

"What?" Elena and Damon both asked at the same time.

"You and I are more alike than you think, Damon. Both of us were infatuated with Katerina from the very beginning, but she passed us by to get ahead. If she could kill my brother and rule the world on her own, she would. And she would cast your brother aside as she did with you. She is one of the reasons my brother and I no longer get along and I would like to put that to an end." He paused and looked at Elena. "I was among the few vampires that did not want our natures exposed. I would have preferred to stay in the shadows being merely a legend. I loathe the way the world as become and I would like to help you reclaim it for humanity."

Elena blinked and nodded absently at him. "Y-you're serious?"

"You have my word that none of this will get back to the other royals and that when the time comes, your plan will go off without a hitch."

"How can I trust you?" she asked.

"I never go back on my word."

Elena looked at Damon and he nodded to confirm Elijah's statement. "Then I believe we have something to show you," she said as she stepped forward, extending her hand towards him. After sealing their new alliance, Elena went to pick up her weapons and reunite with Damon before the pair led the Original to the colony, wondering how to explain his arrival to the rest of the people.


	16. Chapter 16

**a/n: And thus the beginning of the battle has begun :)**

**As of right now, I only have the epilogue to write so I'll be posting a chapter a day unitl all 21 chapters are up.**

SIXTEEN

It was the day before the break in was to happen and Damon found it increasingly difficult to break away from the mansion. He had heard enough from the other inhabitants to know that Klaus and Katherine had upped the security around the facility and even going to send out more patrols to make sure everything went off smoothly. The most important thing he had learned was that the morning after they were to have contaminated the synthetic blood, the royal family was going to broadcast the product. They were going to ingest it themselves and show the others that it was on the way to their markets. After the broadcast, the bottling was going to happen and Katherine would throw her bash for all the vampires around to test it out. It was going to hit all the vampires close to the colony at once, making their job easier considering the majority of the vampire population lived around the royals so that they would have access to blood.

Damon couldn't wait to get away to share the news with the others, but because of the rise in security, it was hard to slip away. Just as he thought he found an opening, Katherine blocked his view. "Going somewhere?"

"Assembling my patrols for the next few days."

"You do realize that I want you and Stefan by my side instead of out on patrol, don't you?"

"I think Klaus would like it better if we weren't there."

Katherine narrowed her eyes at him. "In other words, you don't want to be there with me."

Damon shrugged. "If it helps, imagine that I'm choosing to spend my time making sure that nothing happens to any of you."

He watched as the veins around her eyes began to be more prominent; her eyes dilating in blood lust before she lunged at him. "I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but one more conversation like this and I will tear you limb-from-limb. Do I make myself clear?" she asked, shoving him against the wall with her fingers digging so far into his skin he could feel them on his bones.

He nodded, keeping a look of indifference on his face. "Understood."

She added more force to her hold before removing herself entirely. "Have you seen Stefan?" she asked in a tone that told him she was choosing to ignore what had just happened.

Damon thought about it for a moment and shook his head. "I haven't seen him since the day before last," he answered.

"It's not like him to be gone for so long," she stated.

"No," Damon agreed. "I'll look for him while I'm out there," he promised her and then turned to take his leave.

When she was sure he was out of earshot, Katherine signaled for Trevor who was waiting for her command. "Follow him. I want to know everything he sees, says, and does while he's supposed to be patroling."

"Yes milady," he replied and followed after Damon at Katherine's request.

* * *

><p>Even though he wanted to get to the colony as quickly as he could, Damon spent some of his time looking around the area he thought Stefan would be. After coming up empty handed, he made his way to the tunnel to talk to the others about the final decisions and set up of the plan. Instead of going to find Lexi right away, he wandered around to find Elena. As he headed to her quarters, Isobel was rounding the corner and stopped when she saw him. "She's not in there," she said.<p>

"Hello to you too," he replied, smiling slightly. "Any idea where?"

"The training area. She and Elijah have been practicing since she got out of bed this morning."

"Elijah's here?"

"He came back yesterday," she replied and shrugged.

He nodded and headed for the training area where, sure enough, he could hear Elijah and Elena sparring. As he entered, Elijah ducked from one of Elena's punches and in return delivered a blow to her midsection that knocked her to the ground. "Ah, Damon. Welcome back," Elijah said as he reached down to help Elena to her feet.

Elena smiled caught her breath before she went over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He hugged her back and placed a kiss to her forehead before she pulled back. "I'll welcome you properly later," she whispered and then took another deep breath. "If you're here, I guess there's business to attend to. I'll get cleaned up and meet you guys in the conference room," she said and dashed off.

"She is quite the fighter," Elijah said as he grabbed a rag to wipe his hands.

"Yes she is."

"She even managed to get a stake near my heart earlier. If the stake were made of White Ash, I might have been killed."

"Isobel tells me you've been here since yesterday," Damon said, changing the subject slightly.

"I told Niklaus after you and I arrived that I would be there to stand with him and the others, but I would find my own accommodations while I stayed in town."

"So you chose to stay in the colony."

Elijah smirked and put his hand on Damon's shoulder. "You have my word that nothing has or will happen between Elena and I. I like her in the way that I admire the fire I see in her and her determination. I hear the way she talks about you and I saw the true concern and love you have for her. We both have already felt the sting of when a girl comes between to men and that is something I plan to never be apart of again."

Damon inclined his head and smiled. "You are by far my favorite member of the Original family."

"I am the only one that is likable," Elijah returned and gestured for Damon to walk with him. "I guess it is time to put the final plans in order." Damon nodded and they made their way to the conference building.

* * *

><p>Katherine was pacing in her quarters when a knock sounded on the door. She opened it to reveal Trevor and invited him in. "That was awfully fast."<p>

He nodded and she saw the nervousness about him.

She rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hips. "Out with it."

"I followed him around town. He was searching for something, but he wasn't looking very well. He gave up after a relatively short amount of time and started heading towards the abandoned warehouse sector where the human attacks have been increasing. I followed him to this tunnel that leads off a slope at the end of a structure and he disappeared."

Katherine's brow arched. "He disappeared?"

Trevor nodded. "Halfway through it he disappeared from sight, but I went down there and I could see to the end of the tunnel and there was nothing." He shook his head and Katherine could see the awe on his face as he recounted his tale. "I went into the tunnel and suddenly I couldn't go any further. If it was as though I was in contact with an invisible wall and my skin started crawling as though I were near vervain."

Katherine's eyes narrowed. "Is that all?" she asked wanting to go after Damon herself at that moment.

He shook his head. "I pushed my past it and when I came to the real end of the tunnel I saw humans. Lots of them. I came rushing back before they saw me."

"Did you speak to anyone else about this?" she asked, stepping closer to him.

"Of course not, milady."

"Good," she replied and in one quick motion pulled Trevor's head from his shoulders. She dropped the head next to the corpse and watched as blood spread over the ground. Her mind went back to every interaction with Damon since the humans started rebelling and knew that he had switched sides. He would pay for his betrayal.

* * *

><p>Once everyone had their orders in place for when the plan was set in motion, Lexi called the meeting to a close. The witches were finally ready with their potion and seeing it in front of them made everything seem more real and attainable than it had when they began making the plans in the first place. "Everyone rest up and do what you need to in order to prepare. We only get one shot at this," Lexi reminded everyone as they were on their way out.<p>

Elena smiled at Damon as they remained in the room, waiting for the others to leave. "Are you staying?"

"No," he answered, hating the disappointment that shone in her eyes. "I haven't seen my brother in a few days and neither has Katherine. No one has been hunting in the last few days have they?"

She shook her head. "Not since Logan and the others."

He nodded. "I need to get back and tell her that I found nothing, but I can meet you later tonight."

She smiled widely at that. "Usual place?"

"Of course," he replied.

She took his hand in hers and they began to walk towards the tunnel where they could say goodbye. They stopped at the entrance and Damon tilted her chin up and placed his lips against hers. As the kiss began to pick up steam, Damon felt the air shift and the kiss was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"I knew it wasn't the wolf bite causing hallucinations."

Damon moved so that he was standing protectively in front of Elena. "Stefan-"

"I've been watching you for days, Damon and it really hurts knowing that you could lie to me with so little effort."

"Katherine is worried about you."

Stefan shook his head. "She'll be fine when I return with news of a doppelganger."

Damon's hands clenched into fists as he stared at his brother. "You know I can't let you go back."

"Then I suggest you start explaining things to me from the beginning, Damon. I'm tired of you keeping things from me."

"Stefan?" came another voice from behind them and they all turned to see Lexi.

"Lexi?" he breathed.

Damon took the opportunity to move Elena out of Stefan's direct path, taking the stake from the holster on her thigh as they went.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I came to get answers. There's been a lot of betrayal going on."

Damon's eyes moved Stefan's hand where he could see the glint of a vervain dart. He saw the way Stefan began to crouch as though he were waiting for the right moment to strike, but Damon struck first.

"Damon, no!" came both Elena and Lexi's voice as he tackled Stefan to the ground.

Damon hissed as Stefan knocked the stake out of his grasp, the dull echo reaching his ears as it bounced on the ground before rolling too far out of reach. He felt an ache in his jaw as Stefan delivered a punch, but Damon saw an opportunity to get the dart away from his brother and with only a split second to decide what to do, Damon knew what had to be done. Even with Lexi screaming for him to stop, Damon struck and pierced Stefan's side with the needle, injecting the lethal amount of vervain into his system.

Stefan's movements slowed and Damon sat back as he watched the life leave his brother's eyes. "I'm sorry, Brother," he whispered.

Everything passed in slow motion as Lexi brought Stefan's body across her lap, staring at Damon with tears and anger in her eyes. "He could have helped us."

"He's too loyal to Katherine," Damon argued as Elena sank to her knees beside him.

"Damon-" she started, but he got to his feet.

"I have to go," he replied and blurred out of sight.

Elena stared after him with a broken heart before she turned back to Lexi who was staring at Stefan with surprise and confusion. "Lexi?"

"Get Bonnie," she demanded and looked up. "Now."

Elena nodded and dashed off as she went to fetch the witch wondering what Lexi could possibly need her for.


	17. Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

The realization of what happened settled in the closer Damon came to the mansion. By the time he neared the perimeters, he was overcome with guilt over the fact that he not only had just killed his brother, but that he had simply ran away from scene of the crime. It took all Damon had not to break down as he made his way to his quarters. However, the minute he opened his door, he found that he had to switch off his emotions in order to stay alive.

His room was in shambles. Everything he owned had been smashed and shredded; completely destroyed. Bits and pieces of everything were scattered across the floor, but Damon didn't have to search hard to see what had caused this. There, in his favorite chair was Katherine, his entire stash of vervain vials lined up on the table next to her. She was sitting with her back against one of the arms, her legs crossed over the other, examining her nails. It was then that Damon noticed there was blood on her hands and her clothes.

"Did you find anything about where Stefan ran off to?" she asked as if nothing out of the ordinary were going on around them.

"No."

"Find anything about the humans that have been getting away with slaying my people?"

Damon watched her as she continued to stare at her hands. "No," he answered again.

"So you don't have anything to report on a rather large population of humans living at the edge of town guarded by very powerful magic?"

As she finished the question, she turned to stare at Damon and he saw the pure anger that lurked beneath her brown eyes. It unnerved him that just a few moments ago he had been staring into similar eyes, ones that were full of sorrow and concern. Damon knew he couldn't lie to her when she was like this. He knew she already knew all of the answers and lying would only bring about his death faster.

"Oh that," he replied in a carefree tone followed by a shrug.

Her eyes narrowed and she moved so that she was sitting in the chair properly. "Oh that?" she repeated. "That's all you have to say for yourself?"

"What do you want me to say that you don't already know?" he asked.

"I want an explanation. I want to know the moment you first betrayed me."

"As I've told you before, Katherine, I no longer love you. I don't actually believe I was ever in love with you, just overly obsessed and infatuated. I love being a vampire and the power that comes with it. What I don't like, however, is the way you and Klaus have destroyed what it is to be a creature of the night. There are no humans to hunt and even with the synthetic blood, there's no guarantee that it will continue to work."

Katherine said nothing as she watched him continue his explanation.

"I hate what you've done to my brother," he said, trying his best to keep the switch off before his emotions gave him away. "I hate that you've driven a wedge between us that will never completely go away and I hate that you've put him on the sidelines so that you can enjoy your title as queen. It's as if he means as little to you as you do to me."

Katherine's lips curled into a sneer as she stared at him. Slowly, she got to her feet and Damon braced for an attack. Instead, she simply picked up a few of the vials and asked, "How long have you been poisoning yourself in order to keep your secrets?"

"Since the moment we met Isobel." He smirked, knowing what he was about to say next would only add fuel to the fire. "I got the idea from her as she had it in her system before I turned her."

He stared at her as realization flooded her features and pure, murderous anger brought her to full blood lust. In the blink of an eye she threw the vials at him, the vervain eating away at his skin as she tackled him to the ground. "I will bleed you dry and have Klaus force the truth from you," she vowed as her fingers slashed the skin of her face.

Damon hissed and found enough strength to push her away. He knew this was a fight for his life and if he lost to her now, it was all over. Not just for him, but for everyone he had grown close to in the last few months. Quickly, he looked around the room for a weapon, but was stopped short as Katherine appeared in front of him and jabbed a thick stake into his side so far there was barely any sticking out for him to grab.

Damon fell to his knees as he clawed at the stake in order to retrieve it. He saw Katherine gearing up for another attack and just when he thought she would get him, he was able to grab the stake and struck out at her. She cried out as he stabbed her in the gut with enough force to make her stumble backwards, the weapon in her hand falling to the floor. Damon blinked several times, doing his best not to succumb to the pain coursing through his body. Instead, he moved for the door, only to be shoved into it by Katherine.

He expected to feel the stake enter his body again, but instead felt Katherine's nails tearing at his skin. She had always gone for the more intimate forms of torture. As blood began to well up in the shredded lines of his flesh, he recalled the many times he had seen her skin humans and other vampires with those nails. He knew she would have no problem doing that to him as well. He waited until her hands moved away from his body to move out of her way, causing her to fall into the door as retreated.

When she turned around she saw him going for the stake and cut him off. She grabbed it first and jammed it into his spine. As she stepped back to admire her handy work, Damon turned and threw the vials of vervain he had grabbed at her. She screamed as her skin began to sizzle and melt away as his had before. Only, she had no tolerance to it as he had and Damon took the momentary distraction to remove the stake from his back and move for the door again.

Just as before, Katherine reminded him that she was the more powerful one here. She pinned his back against the door and Damon's body was filled with unimaginable pain as her hand broke through every layer of skin, muscle, and bone of his chest cavity. He could feel her hand seeking out his heart and he knew it was now or never. With the last bit of strength that he had left, Damon swung his arm and caught her side with the stake. Her eyes went wide in surprise and her face showed her true vampire nature as she became even more angry. He saw his chance and reached up to grab hold of her face. With one last ditch effort, he snapped her neck and pushed her body to the floor.

He knew she would wake soon and that if he wanted to live, he needed to get out of there as fast as possible. Damon knew he had lost more blood than he could afford, but his will to live was enough to keep him moving. He could feel his body trying to repair, but he knew he wouldn't be nearly as healed as he would need to be to take on anyone else if he was caught. There was a gaping hole in his chest that was losing blood. He had several broken bones and Katherine's nails had done incredible damage to his skin in various places. The more he assessed the damage, the more he found himself wondering if he would make it.

He wasn't sure how, but he had made it to the abandoned warehouses at the outside of town. Knowing he was a semi good distance away from Katherine, he felt a little more relieved. However, that feeling was cut short as his legs gave out and he staggered to the ground. The rough landing on the pavement ate away at his resolve and he grunted as he managed to push himself so that he was lying on his back. He blinked as he looked up at the stars, his vision beginning to blur.

It was then that something else filled his vision and panic coursed through him. Brown curls and brown eyes were suspended above him, but instead of a murderous rage, they were filled with extreme worry and terror. "Elena," he muttered, the sound of his own voice unintelligible to his own ears.

Tears streamed down her face as she heard the weakness in his voice. She looked around to see if whoever had done this to him was near, but was thankful to see nothing. Knowing there wasn't much time, she reached into her boot for a knife and slit her wrist before placing it over Damon's mouth. His eyes had already closed and he wasn't responding to her blood. Just as she had begun to think it was already too late, she felt his lips move and not long after that, his fangs pierced her skin.

Elena let him drink until he had taken all that she could afford to lose if she wanted to get him back to the colony safe. She had to force her wrist away from his mouth, a move that tore more of her skin and caused her to bleed more. She took a second to see if it had helped and realized that it wasn't enough. He would need to feed from several people in order to fully recover fast enough.

"She knows," he muttered, but Elena barely heard him in the panic as she got to her feet.

Carefully, she bent down to loop her arms under his shoulders so that she could begin to drag him to safety. She was lucky she had spent so much time training and had built muscle and stamina otherwise she would have never been able to pull this off. Even so, by the time they were behind the barrier, Elena was exhausted. Not wanting to let him out of her sight, Elena forced herself to let go of Damon, but now that she knew they were safe, she left him there to go get help.

* * *

><p>Elena watched as Elijah pulled his wrist away from Damon's lips. Damon was still unconscious, but he was taking the blood that was being offered. So far Matt, Tyler, John, and Alaric had all donated their blood, but he still wasn't healing. It was only now that Elijah's blood was in his system that Elena started seeing his body begin to mend.<p>

"I thought vampire blood doesn't work on other vampires?" she questioned.

"It does not," Elijah replied. "It simply gets combines with his own and that of the humans' blood and makes it respond faster. There was extensive damage to his body to the point where if you had not have given him your blood, he would have begun to shrivel up and die."

"Did Katherine do this?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"It certainly was not Niklaus," Elijah pointed out. "If it was, he never would have escaped and there would be nothing left of him nor of us."

Elena nodded silently and moved her gaze to Damon. "Thank you."

"Get some rest, Elena. He will be awake in the morning and fully recovered in time to carry out our plan of attack."

She nodded again and watched as he left, leaving her alone with Damon. Instead of trying to wake him up, she moved to lie down next to him. She didn't care about the condition of his body, she just wanted to be close to him. Exhausted in her own right, Elena was asleep shortly after closing her eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

Elena felt the bed beside her move and it brought her out of her sleepy haze. She opened her eyes to see Damon staring back at her, a light smile on his face. "I thought I lost you," she murmured.

He nodded. "Quite a few times I thought that as well."

"Yet, here you are," she said and moved so that she could take his hand in hers.

"I believe I have you to thank for that."

She shook her head modestly. "I wasn't the only one that gave you blood."

"But if you hadn't found me..."

She squeezed his hand for reassurance as she saw the fear flash in his eyes. "I was on my way to the warehouse when the compass picked up on a vampire nearby. I went to check it out just in case since it was a little off course of our spot and when I realized it was you..." her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes against the tears.

"Thank you."

She smiled and opened her eyes after she was sure the tears were gone. "What happened?"

"Katherine had me followed," he replied. "She knows."

"You said that last night too."

"She had gone through my things and destroyed everything. When I came back she had my entire stash of vervain and asked me when I decided to betray her. She attacked me and said she would bleed me dry and have me answer to Klaus. I fought back and barely managed to get away."

"Thankfully."

Damon swallowed around a tight throat and closed his eyes. "That isn't all she knows."

"What else?"

"She knows about you."

Elena's eyes widened with surprise. "You told her?"

"Not exactly, but I said something that implicated the existence of a doppelganger."

"We need to tell the others," she said getting to her feet.

She watched as Damon nodded, but made no effort to get up. "Katherine may be impulsive, but she's more clever than anyone gives her credit for. The others should know, I agree, but Katherine would never be foolish enough to attack right now."

"What makes you think that?"

"If something should go wrong with the synthetic blood, say it doesn't appeal to the masses or doesn't nourish them as it did in the tests, then Katherine knows where a good back up horde is to be found. If she goes after you at this exact moment out of rage she looses that back up and then she and the rest of the vampires are in trouble. The moment she thinks the vampires are good with the synthetic blood is when she'll strike. If we're lucky enough our plan will already be in place by that point and we'll have already beat her to the first strike."

Elena let that sink in and let out a deep breath when she came to the conclusion that when speaking about Katherine, Damon would know her best. Instead, she decided to change the subject all together. "You need more blood."

"I'm fine," he said even though his body was begging for more.

"No you're not, Damon. I can still see pieces of you that I shouldn't be able to," she said, gesturing towards his midsection. His tattered shirt did little to hide the damage that was slowly healing. He sighed knowing there was no use arguing with that. "Alaric brought you a change of clothes. Why don't you change and I'll be right back with something to eat?"

"Elena-"

"Please, don't argue with me right now," she said. "We strike in less than twenty-four hours and you need to be completely ready before we begin."

"Elijah's blood is already doing it's job."

Elena let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine," she said and reached for her knife again. The marks from the night before were gone thanks to Elijah, but she had no problem making new ones. She saw the veins on Damon's face bulge as the blood began to flow from the cut. "If you're not going to let me get food for you, then you're going to have to let me _be _the food."

Damon was past the point of protesting now. Instead, he forced himself into a sitting position waited for Elena to stand beside him. Instead of biting into her wrist as he had done the night before, he lapped up the blood with his tongue and then pulled her into his lap. He positioned her so that she was sitting with her back against his front. He tipped her head to the side and pushed her hair off to the side to expose the slender curve of her neck. Not wasting any time, he leaned in and sank his fangs into her flesh.

He moaned as her blood began to enter his system. He could tell she had vampire blood in her system as well as a hint of vervain. It sang through his veins and he could feel his body mending with each pull of life he took. There was something else in her blood that he was unable to determine, but it was something that made her taste even better, making him wonder if he would be able to stop. Her body shuddered as her back arched slightly and he picked up the strong scent of her arousal. It was when her heart rate began to flutter that he found the will to stop and pulled his head back, licking up the excess blood from his lips as he leaned his head against the wall.

He barely registered Elena's movement until he felt her hand sliding down what was left of his clothes, stopping at his hardening cock. He opened his eyes to see that she had turned to straddle his lap so that she was facing him. He reached down and removed her hand before surging forward so that she was lying on her back with him above her, cradled between her thighs.

"We shouldn't," he said, his voice strained from arousal and blood lust.

"Why not?" she asked, a pout forming on her lips.

"Do you not realize what terrible timing this is?"

She nodded and reached up to cup his face with one hand, the other resting on his shoulder. "That's exactly why we should be together, Damon. In a few short hours we'll be risking our lives to get rid of the vampires once and for all. We're about to start a war, one that we may or may not live through. This may very well be our last moments together and I see no better way to spend them than to spend them expressing my love for you in the most intimate way possible, do you?"

Damon thought about it and realized that she was right. Soon they would have to leave to make sure that everything was ready for the break in. He would need to feed again and after that, the future was up in the air. Instead of replying right away, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She moved her hand to the back of his head and her fingers sank into his hair in order to hold on to him and she kissed him back. He pulled away enough to say what he needed to say. "I don't think there's a better way, no. I love you, Elena."

"I love you too," she breathed and brought his lips back down to hers.

The kiss was tender and passionate as Damon was determined to take his time and savor her. He realized she was right. This might be the last time they would be able to be intimate and he wanted it to be ever lasting in their memories should one of them not make it out alive. Her body arched into his, making him hiss as the material of their clothes rubbed against his newly formed skin. Her blood was mingling with the blood he had been given earlier and Elijah's blood, enabling him to finally heal.

Slowly, Damon moved his lips from hers, trailing his way down the curve of her neck. He nibbled her flesh, paying close attention to the spot he had recently marked her. Her body arched into his again and he could feel the heat coming from her core. He continued his way down, lifting her shirt as he went in order to get as much of her skin as exposed as possible. He groaned in delight as he worked his way further down, removing her clothes as he went, only to discover that she wasn't wearing anything under the basic layers.

Elena closed her eyes and ground her head into the bed as his tongue found her core. Her thighs clenched involuntarily as he began to pleasure her mercilessly. She felt him smile against her body as his hand reached up to add to the ministrations of his tongue. Moans escaped her lips as she felt two of his fingers sink into her wet heat. Her body ached for him in the worst way and he was quickly bringing her to the edge of bliss. Just as she thought her head would explode, Damon stopped and leaned back on his knees, smirking down at her.

Elena opened her eyes and smirked back, but instead of letting him lay above her again, she moved quickly and pushed him onto his back. She smiled at the confusion on his face as she stared down at him. She pulled back long enough to remove the rest of his clothes and then pressed her front against his to kiss him soundly. His hands went to her hips as if to ground her and Elena's dominant hand slid down his skin until she was able to wrap her fingers around his throbbing cock. She adjusted her body to the right angle and then guided him into her body.

They both groaned with pleasure as he slid in with ease. Her body contracted, pulling him in even further. Elena broke the kiss so that she could sit upright, her palms lying flat on his chest so that she could grab onto him while she rode him. One of his hands reached up to fondle her breasts as the bounced with each thrust. She was a sight to be seen as her long tresses cascaded down her back, her body arching in just the right ways. Her hips rocked back and forth and with each pass she gained speed, bringing them closer to the edge.

As Damon sensed his release was close, he surged forward so that they were both sitting. He wrapped his arms around her to hold her close and began thrusting hard and deep into Elena's body as she continued to rock her hips. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and without asking for the permission he knew she would give, he reared back and pierced her flesh with his fangs. She cried out in a mixture of pleasure and pain, her nails digging into his skin hard enough to open some of the freshly healed wounds, but he didn't care.

Neither of them moved, even after they had come down from their highs. He remained with his face against her neck and she slumped against him, her hands holding the back of his head to her skin. Their bodies were still joined until he heard her heart skip a beat. He pulled his head back and bit into his wrist before he offered his blood to her. She took it without any protest and when she finished he lowered his wrist and kissed her soundly. Elena shuddered as she experienced the taste of their blood mixed together in their kiss and she the fact that she found it more exciting than she would have guessed. It surprised her even more that she was grossed out by it either.

Satisfied and satiated, they collapsed on the bed, landing on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. They both turned their heads towards each other and smiled, their mouths covered in each other's blood. "I love you, Elena," he said.

"I love you too, Damon," she returned and moved so that she could curl up against his side.

Damon wrapped his arms around her and continued to stare at the ceiling wondering what the future had in store for them. He had never given much thought to tomorrow, but he knew he wanted to spend all of his tomorrows with Elena. He had also never had much fear of dying as he had nothing much to live for, but that had all changed. He feared what would happen in the next coming days because no matter what happened, if he lost Elena he knew nothing else would matter. He shook the thoughts away and concentrated on the fact that she was here now in his arms and ready for another round of pleasure.


	19. Chapter 19

NINETEEN

Those that were going on the mission gathered in the armory to load up with weapons. If everything went according to plan, they wouldn't even need the weapons, but they all agreed that they would rather be safe than sorry. When everyone had picked what they wanted, they turned towards Lexi and waited for further instruction. She gestured towards Bonnie and Damon noticed the amulets dangling from her hands. They matched the one Elena always wore to go undetected.

"Matt, Tyler, Elena, and myself will be wearing these. They are spelled for up to two hours. The spell allows you to walk among vampires undetected. They can't hear your heart beat or catch your scent. They won't be able to hear your footsteps either, but if you walk into something, they will hear that."

As Bonnie handed out the amulets to Matt and Tyler, Lexi picked up a small bag from the table. "You'll each be getting one of these as well," she said, reaching in to grab the contents. She pulled out a compass and opened it. "It shows you where there is a vampire presence, but it won't detect the person holding it." She tossed one to everyone in the room except Elena who already had one.

"For this mission, each dart and bomb are infused with both wolfsbane and vervain. That way, if you do encounter a werewolf working for Klaus you won't be unprepared," Alaric added.

"For those of you that are wondering, if you do happen to get bit by a werewolf, the only thing that can heal you is Klaus's blood," Damon said. "So don't get bit."

Everyone looked around at each other as silence washed over them. Lexi was the one to break that silence as she went over the final plans one last time. "Matt, Tyler, Caroline; you three will keep an eye on the perimeter. If need be, cause a distraction, but do not get caught. If you have to, run, but don't look back. "Elena, Damon, Bonnie, and I will go into the facility. I will stay in the tunnel to keep an eye out for a signal from those watching the outside. Damon, since you know the facility, you'll be leading Bonnie and Elena to the mixture. I'm trusting you to make sure that everyone stays safe and comes out alive."

Damon nodded. "You have my word."

Lexi looked at Elijah and he nodded. "I will be chatting up the girls running security. I can assure you, no one will be seeing you on the monitors, nor will any of it be recorded. Niklaus and Katerina will never know you were there or that I was part of it. Not yet anyway," he said with a grin. "And that would be my cue to go. I will return tonight with news," he added and then took off.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Elena asked Alaric and Isobel.

"I would love nothing more than to do that, but right now, I don't think that would be a good idea. If they see my face, I'm as good as dead and so are you," Isobel replied.

"And I am too old to fight this one," Alaric answered with a smile. "I'm saving all the energy I have for the big one."

"Good luck," Isobel added and took her leave with Alaric.

Lexi looked around and cleared her throat. "Take a moment to prepare. We leave shortly," she said before exiting the room.

"Do you have everything?" Damon asked, looking at Bonnie.

"Yes," she said, holding up a small vial.

"You've been spending so much time on _that_?" Elena asked.

Bonnie grinned. "It might be small, but I assure you it isn't. You'll be surprised at what it does when I cast the spell."

Elena nodded. "I'll take your word for it."

"I really wish I could be there when Katherine takes a sip of the tainted blood," Caroline mused. "I hope they get that on video so I can watch it later while I stare at her corpse."

Everyone stared at her. "That was...dark," Tyler said in a low voice.

She simply shrugged. "I've been waiting years for this moment," she said and walked out, Tyler and Matt following her.

"I'll meet you at the tunnel," Bonnie said to them and hurried off as well, leaving Damon and Elena alone.

"I can't believe this is really happening," Elena said, leaning against the table.

"Imagine how the Bennett's feel. They've been waiting for this to happen for centuries. They knew of the prophecy and they had to wait for you to come along. They've probably been planning this for ages," Damon said as he moved to stand in front of her.

Elena wrapped her arms about his neck as his hands moved to rest on her hips. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better."

Her response was to kiss him soundly. "Promise me that you won't do anything stupid if something goes wrong."

"Like die for you?"

She smiled lightly, but it was exactly what she was thinking. "Damon-"

"Let's not think about it," he interrupted and captured her lips. He wanted to spend his last moments with her thinking of anything but the worst case scenarios of what was about to happen. He pulled away from her completely and grabbed her hand. "Come on, time to go," he said and they went to the tunnel to meet the others.

* * *

><p>Once they were sure the perimeter was secure, Tyler, Matt, and Caroline parted ways from the other four to make sure that they continued to stay safe. For such an important project, they were all surprised by the lack of security. Then again, Damon figured Kol, Finn, and the others were enjoying family bonding time not thinking that the humans would be brave or strong enough to try something like this. That thought made Damon smile, especially as he approached their point of entry without a hitch.<p>

He and Lexi lifted the storm drain from the ground and set it aside gently. They used their hearing to determine if the coast was clear and nodded at each other when they deemed it safe. Damon jumped down, landing swiftly on his feet. He beckoned for Elena to jump down as well and he caught her to avoid making sound. He did the same for Bonnie and then signaled to Lexi that they would be going. She nodded and disappeared from view as she slid the cover back into place.

Damon led the way for Elena and Bonnie, stopping every few seconds to listen in on their surroundings. Only a few times did he hear guards moving about, but from what he could tell, the coast was clear. The biggest challenge was getting from the safety of the machines to the main platform where the synthetic blood was being kept in a big vat. It was in the middle of the room with nothing around it to block them from view. They had already discussed this ahead of time and when Damon gave the signal, the girls knew what to do.

Bonnie made her way to the vat on the platform while Damon and Elena split up to make constant rounds of the room. Damon was able to see what Bonnie was doing, but he didn't pay too close attention for fear of losing concentration on keeping her safe. He heard the faint sound of her chants and from the corner of his eye saw an explosion of color, indicating that she had dumped the potion into the mixture. "Elena," she called, summoning the doppelganger.

Damon watched as she met Bonnie on the platform. She beckoned for her to stick out her palm and then held it over the vat. Bonnie drew out a knife and put it in Elena's palm. Understanding what she needed, she watched as Bonnie put pressure on the knife and sliced through her skin. Elena's blood dripped into the synthetic product and Damon could sense the magic beginning to work. When Bonnie put her things away and helped Elena wrap her hand, he knew it was time to go.

They returned to the point of entry without a problem and Lexi promptly removed the cover so that they could come back out. Damon took turns hoisting the girls up to the short ladder near the top before he jumped up to the surface himself. He and Lexi replaced the cover and went to round up the other three. No one said anything until the group of seven safely reached the tunnel and were behind the barrier.

"Did it work?" Caroline asked the moment she could.

"The spell went perfectly and Elena's blood sealed it. In seventy-two hours or with an activation spell, the vervain will be released and kill those that have ingested it."

"So that's it then?" Elena asked. "We just sit here and wait?"

Lexi nodded. "We wait because once they start dying off for no reason, they'll start looking for the cause and when they come looking, we'll be ready."

* * *

><p>Katherine paced the length of her quarters trying to regain her posture so that she could make her fashionably late entrance to her party. It was when Klaus walked into the room that she stopped moving and stared at him. "Is something wrong?" he asked.<p>

"No," she replied, not wanting him to think of her as weak.

"Everyone is waiting for you."

"I know that."

Klaus watched her as she went to her liquor cabinet to pour herself a drink. "I am surprised that Stefan isn't here. I thought he of all people would be by your side for this success."

Katherine slammed back the alcohol and nearly broke the glass setting it back down on the ledge of the cabinet. "Yes, well, we had a disagreement and I haven't seen him in awhile. Should we go?" she asked, hurrying past him. Klaus followed her, shutting her door behind him.

When they arrived at the ballroom, the party was already in full swing and Katherine seemed to have gotten back to her old self. The room went quiet as the guests realized the king and queen had arrived. They made their way to the stage and smiled at the large turnout. "Thank you all for coming," Klaus said. He signaled for the wait staff to begin and watched as they made their rounds handing out samples of the synthetic blood. It was then that the cameras set up to broadcast the statement Klaus was about to make. "Some of you may have heard a rumor that we have been working on a solution to our human donor problem. We have finally been able to create something that is almost as nourishing and tasty as the real thing. At this moment, stores all around the world are opening their doors with this new product and vampires are getting a taste of the future."

Katherine smirked as she took her own bottle the waiter brought to her and lifted it up. "Feel free to tell us what you think. So for the first time in a long time, we are able to say drink up and please, do not stop when you are full." With that, she and Klaus raised their bottles and drank the contents to show the world that they themselves liked it.

Katherine looked out over the sea of bodies in the room and grinned at the blood lust she could see from their faces. She could already tell that the synthetic was going to be a huge success and couldn't help but search the crowd for Stefan. She was only more disappointed, but she shrugged that feeling off quickly when she realized Rose and Sage had come onto the stage. Klaus signaled for Katherine to follow them and they went into a quieter room across the hall.

"What's going on?" Klaus asked them.

"Last night we were doing our rounds of the facility before bottling began and we came across this," Sage said, holding up a tablet for the royals to see. Security footage was frozen on an image that sent Katherine's rage over the edge as well as fear. There, dead center on the screen, was Damon and a woman with _her _face; the Doppelganger.

"What did they do?" Klaus asked.

"Nothing that we know of. There's no footage of them inside the facility, just outside," Rose replied.

Klaus looked at Katherine and did a double take as he saw the look on her face. He looked at the other girls and nodded. "Would you please find my siblings and send them this way?"

They both nodded before they took their exits and Klaus turned to Katherine. "What is going on, Katherine. It is obvious that you know something."

"Stefan isn't off somewhere venting. I haven't seen him for the better part of a week and I have no idea where he went. Then I had some suspicions about Damon so I had Trevor follow him."

"Damon killed Trevor?"

"I did," she replied bluntly. "He followed Damon to the edge of town and discovered a horde of humans. Thousands of them and Damon has been working with them for a long time. I confronted him, we fought, and he got away. I thought with all the damage I had done he would have died, but I was mistaken."

The emotionlessness on Klaus's face told her that he was enraged beyond the point of caring. "Thousands of humans are out there, at my doorstep and you keep that from me?"

Before Katherine could defend herself, Kol, Finn, Rebekah, and Elijah entered the room. "What's going on?" Kol asked.

"We have a problem," Klaus answered and told them what Katherine had just informed him of. "I want you to gather as many vampires as you can and prepare them to strike tonight. The humans have gone unnoticed far too long." After the four siblings parted ways, Klaus grabbed Katherine's bicep and stared at her angrily. "You better hope that they didn't do anything major because I assure you, your punishment will be long and painful. You will also be out there fighting. If I see you try to run, I'll kill you myself." When she nodded, he let her go and went about prepping his troops.

* * *

><p>Damon got up as incessant knocking sounded at Elena's door. He opened it to Elijah who burst in on his own accord. "What's wrong?" Elena asked from her spot on the bed.<p>

"Klaus knows about you and this place. They are coming."


	20. Chapter 20

TWENTY

Damon was in awe as the entire colony met in a large open field. There had to be well over a thousand people which was more than he had seen in centuries. From what Elena had told him after Elijah returned, there were not only humans willing to take down the vampires, but werewolves and other lines of witches as well. And yet, as Damon scanned the crowd, he realized that for the first time ever he felt as if he were truly part of something and he was happy about it. It was then that he realized Lexi had begun speaking.

"The Bennett's will be in the vervain field. They will be dropping the barrier soon as well as helping in any way that they can. Remember people, these vampires coming our way will not think twice about tearing you to pieces. We've trained for this. You are all ready. The Human Revolution is taking its final stand today and we shall be successful," she said, the last bit was said smiling at Elena.

"Why do they have to hide in the vervain fields?" Damon asked Lexi once she turned to them.

"They have other tricks up their sleeves they wanted to save for the battle."

"We should go beyond the barrier and attack there too," Elena said, changing the subject.

"It's too dangerous," Damon returned.

"I didn't mean me in general and for the record, I plan on fighting too. I already did my part; the vampires are going to be weakened regardless if I live or die now."

"Elena-" Caroline started.

"What? You know I'm right," she said and shrugged. "Either way, we really don't have time for this."

"How many do you think Klaus will be sending?" Lexi asked, looking at Elijah.

"More than we have here," he replied in a dark tone. "However, if the spell you spiked the blood with is to work correctly and soon, then I believe we have a chance."

Elena shook her head. "It's only been twenty-four hours since we spiked it. The release won't happen for another forty-eight hours."

"It can be released with an activation spell," Lexi said. "I thought I said that already."

"You did," Damon said. "That's what the witches will be doing in the vervain field," he explained and Elena nodded.

"A part of me wishes they would just show up already," Caroline muttered. "The waiting is killing me."

As if on cue, a scream cut through the air and those close the barrier began to move backwards. "They're here!" someone yelled and it was that moment that all hell broke loose. It was if the barrier had become a solid wall that they could finally see and in the next instant it was gone, revealing thousands of vampires waiting to attack. Elena looked at Damon for a long moment before they both turned their attention to the war that was picking up pace around them.

Screams filled the air along with the scent of fear and blood. There was so much death around them that Damon wasn't sure if the humans had any advantage after all. He wanted nothing more than to keep an eye on Elena to make sure that she stayed alive, but he knew she would be capable of fending for herself. At least for now. If all went well with the witches, it wouldn't be long before the fighting stopped. Pushing those thoughts aside, Damon encountered his first wave of vampires. He smirked as he realized that he was probably older than the majority of vampires in the area. It would give him an advantage unlike any other.

His smirk widened as one young vampire engaged him. Another perk was that vampires knew who he was and that moment of hesitation was enough for him to remind them that he was not to be messed with. Damon reached out with enough force and put his arm through the vampire's chest. With his hand wrapped around the heart, he removed his arm, watching the vampire collapse the ground. Tossing the heart over his shoulder, he saw Isobel smirking at him.

Her smirk was wiped from her face as a vampire came from behind her and brought her to the ground. She fought back, reaching for the eyes. He screamed and tried to break her neck as she continued to pierce his eyes with her nails. When she had the upper hand, she used her speed to bring her hands to his neck and removed his head from his body. She got to her feet quickly and felt her neck crack as it healed. As she began to locate a target, she felt a stake being jammed into her back.

"So you're not dead," came Katherine's voice. Isobel staggered to her knees, trying her best to get the stake out of her back, but she couldn't reach it. Katherine moved to stand in front of her, another stake in hand. "Allow me to rectify that," she added and raised the stake.

"No!" came another voice and before Katherine could bring her arm down, Elena launched a dart in her direction, hitting the vampire's thigh. She rushed to Isobel's side and pulled out the stake before getting into a fighting stance.

Katherine plucked the dart from her body and let it drop to the ground. She could feel the poison seeping through her system, but she refused to let herself feel the pain. Damon had gotten away from her once because of her weakness to it, she wasn't going to let a mortal get the best of her either. Slowly, she got her poise back and smirked at Elena.

For the first time, Katherine and her doppelganger were standing face-to-face.

Isobel watched the identical women circle each other as she waited for her back to heal. From the look on Katherine's face, she knew it was going to be a bit. She always did have a habit for playing with her food. "How were you able to lie to me for so long?" Katherine asked Isobel, keeping her eyes on Elena. She already knew the answer, she wanted to see if it really was the truth.

"Vervain."

"And Damon knew about this all along. That's why he betrayed me."

"He betrayed you because you're a bitch," Elena explained, looking for the opening she needed to attack. She knew she had to be careful because Katherine was an older vampire meaning she was very powerful and very fast.

Katherine scoffed at that. "You don't know me."

"I don't want to know you."

Elena saw the malicious glee that glinted in Katherine's eyes and she knew the vampire was ready to strike soon. "Then it's a good thing you'll be dead soon. Then neither one of us will have to worry about getting to know one another."

"Agreed," Elena said and caught Katherine by surprise as she rushed forward, catching her square in the chest with her stake.

Katherine screamed as she landed against a wall, but the scream quickly turned into laughter as she pulled the stake from her chest and launched it back at Elena. Isobel reacted in the blink of an eye and pushed Elena out of the way, catching the stake with her own body. She fell to the ground again, this time feeling her life fading fast. Elena sunk to her knees and pulled the stake from Isobel's chest, but was pulled to her feet again as Katherine grabbed a fist full of her hair.

"You'll see her again after you're dead," she promised and grabbed Elena's arm. She twisted it back until Elena screamed in pain as it broke. She then dropped her back to the ground and placed a foot on her chest.

Elena acted quickly and reached up with her other hand to grab onto Katherine's leg. She put all her weight into flinging the vampire off her feet and to the ground. She scrambled for the stake she had dropped, but Katherine was faster and knocked her it away from her. She delivered a kick to Elena's face causing the human to land on her back in the dirt. Elena's vision swam before her eyes, but no matter how hard she fought to move, her body refused to do anything. She could see Katherine approaching and panic settled in. Just as she thought it was over, something blurred her vision even more, but as Elijah's voice filled her ears, the panic eased.

She blinked a few times and her vision returned to see Elijah and Katherine staring at each other by her feet. Before she could blink again, Elijah's hand rose and Elena heard the sickening snap of bone and tearing flesh. It made her wince and shut her eyes. As she opened them again she saw Elijah's arm buried in Katherine's chest and a look of pure shock on Katherine's face.

"You ripped my heart out a long time ago, Katerina. Allow me to return the favor," he said and withdrew his hand.

Elena stared in horror at the heart in Elijah's hand, tearing her eyes away only as Katherine's body began to fall on top of her. In one swift motion, he dropped the heart and moved Elena out of Katherine's way. "Isobel," she said quietly and Elijah brought her over to her mother.

Elena's eyes welled with tears as she saw her mother was not dead, but her healing process was taking a lot more time than normal. "I will help her," Elijah promised.

"Thank you," she said and with one last look at Katherine's body, she disappeared into the crowd to find Damon. She knew it should not have been her main focus, but the queen was dead and she thought he should know about it from her.

Fighting her way through the crowd with a broken wrist was much harder than she thought it was going to be. Luckily for her, it wasn't her dominant hand. Elena was also lucky that none of the vampires seemed to be very old. It made her wonder how many of them had been Donors at one point that someone turned in secret. She pushed those thoughts from her mind as she continued to search for Damon.

Taking a second to scan the crowd, Elena presented a distraction for a vampire who took the opportunity and grabbed her from behind. She lashed out with everything that she had, but the vampire had a strong grip on her. Just as it was able to pull her head to the side to expose her neck, something washed over the crowd and as suddenly as the vampire had caught her, he let her go. Stunned, Elena looked down to see him withering in pain and his skin giving off a dull glow. It was then that she realized vampires were dropping like flies all around her. A smile formed on her lips as she realized the spell was working.

"Elena!" came a familiar voice.

She turned to see Damon and began to run to him. It was as she was running that a look of confusion took ahold of his face. From the short distance between them she could see his skin beginning to take on that same dull glow and fear washed over her. "No," she whispered in a panic as he dropped to the ground as if he were in pain. "Damon?" she questioned when she finally reached him.

She dropped down to the ground to pull him into her lap. "Elena-" he started, but his voice was constricted. His arm moved to grab hers, but halfway up it stopped and she saw the life leave his eyes.

"Damon?" she questioned again, panic in her voice. "Damon!" she screamed as his arm fell down to his side with a thud. "No! Damon!" Tears were streaming down her face as she realized he was dead. The sounds of fighting seemed to fade as she realized that he had somehow been affected by the spell. Nothing else mattered at this point.

Elena got to her feet and all at once the sounds, sights, and scents of what was going on around her slammed into her like a brick wall. She had lost one of the few things that mattered and she was determined to take out every single vampire that was still fighting until one of them took her down with it. After countless victories, Elena began to notice that the remaining vampires were retreating. Their numbers had been decreased immensely and they were running in fear.

Elena jumped as someone touched her shoulder, but she quickly realized it was only Lexi. "We won," the vampire said triumphantly.

"Doesn't matter," Elena replied.

It was then that Lexi noticed her eyes and the lifelessness in them. "What?"

"Damon's dead."

"Show me," she demanded. Elena led her to the spot where Damon's body was and upon seeing it, her body collapsed from exhaustion. Lexi inspected it and turned to look at Elena. "Did you share your blood with him the other night?"

"Yes."

Lexi nodded and sunk down to Elena's side. She placed her hand on Elena's face and wiped away a few tears, muddling them with the blood, dirt, and sweat on the human's skin. "Then Damon's not dead."


	21. Chapter 21

**a/n: Oh what an incredible journey this story has been! I'm sad to see it go, but I'm glad that it finally came to a close. It has been a blast writing for you guys over the years and I'm sure going to miss you on my hiatus! I love you all!**

TWENTY-ONE

Those four words were stuck on a loop inside Elena's mind as she stared absentmindedly at Damon's body before her. She shook her head and slowly turned her attention towards Lexi. "He _is_ dead."

Lexi shook her head. "No he's not, Elena. I promise you," she said before getting to her feet, drawing Elena up with her. She scanned the field and saw the real spell she and the witches had been working on beginning to take effect. "Look," she said and pointed to a group of bodies off in the distance. Elena squinted and then gasped when she saw them beginning to move. She turned to look at Lexi and then dropped to her knees again beside Damon.

Tears welled up in her eyes as his chest rose and his body began to move. His eyes opened and tried to focus as well as figure out what was happening to him. "Elena?" he choked out, his voice strangled.

Lexi got down next to them and put her hand on his chest. "Breathe. Damon, you have to breathe now."

"Lexi, what the hell is happening?" Elena asked breathlessly.

"I would also like to know that," Damon said, coughing from the overuse of his lungs. There was a ringing in his ears that he hadn't heard in centuries. He knew it was the beat of his heart, but he refused to believe that that was true until Lexi gave him solid proof.

"The spell that the Bennett's have been working on didn't contain vervain," she said. "Well, a little bit of it, but not a lethal dose that was to be delivered with the activation or time release."

"What the hell was it then?" Elena asked.

"I met Emily Bennett almost a century ago and she had a plan then for when the doppelganger was born."

"She knew about me?"

"The witch that delivered the prophecy to Katherine revealed it to all witches. Emily told me that there would be a revolution led by the doppelganger and that with her blood, they could devise a spell that would nearly wipe vampires from existence without killing them."

Elena looked around and saw thousands of what were vampire bodies now coming out of the same daze Damon was in and it hit her. She looked back at Lexi with wide eyes. "You turned them all human."

"What?" Damon blurted at the same time Lexi nodded.

"Emily told me that long ago a witch had created a cure for vampirism, but when the vampires found out, they went after her so that she couldn't use and no one could pass the know-how along. The witch was able to hide it and leave clues before she was killed. Emily's ancestors had been working on finding it for a long time, but she was the one to find the cure. They've been keeping it safe until a way to use it in mass quantities arose. They couldn't recreate it, but they did find a spell that would allow the original recipe to multiply when combined with the blood of the doppelganger and added to something else. Poisoning the synthetic blood was perfect anyway you look at it."

"What about the vampires that haven't gotten it yet?" Elena asked.

"They will get to it eventually and the spell will still be there. Even if we don't get them all, we'll get the majority and send them back to hiding. It won't be long before humans outnumber the vampires."

"Especially now that the vampires _are_ the humans," Damon said and shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around all of this.

"Exactly," Lexi said, smiling widely. "Not only did we defeat the enemy, but we found a way to populate the planet at the same time."

"So why aren't you going through this?" Elena asked.

"I will eventually," she said as she got to her feet. "Elijah, Caroline, and myself did not take the spell so that we could make sure everything was okay before we did."

"Can Elijah be human?" Elena asked.

Lexi nodded. "He was once and he can be again." She smiled at them and then looked around. "I'm going to check on the others. Remember to breathe, Damon," she added and then vanished from sight.

Damon stared up at Elena from his spot on the ground. He sought out her hand and squeezed it tight. "I'm human again," he mused.

"Katherine's dead."

He closed his eyes as if waiting to feel some kind of sadness, but instead, he felt a smile grace his lips. "I hope it was painful."

He opened his eyes to see Elena smiling from ear-to-ear as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Elijah ripped her heard from her chest. She died with a look of shock on her face."

"Good," he said and let go of her hand so that he could push himself into a sitting position with her help. "This needing to breathe thing is already getting old."

"You'll get over it," she assured him and narrowed her eyes as the smile was wiped from his face. In place of it was a look of confusion and pure awe. "Damon?"

"Stefan?" he breathed and Elena felt the presence of someone else near her. She turned to see Damon's younger brother standing before them looking just as dazed as they felt.

"Damon?" Stefan questioned.

Elena helped Damon to his feet and then stepped back to watch their reunion. "I thought I killed you?"

"You nearly did, but Lexi saw that I was still alive so she sent Elena to get Bonnie. They brought me to this room deep underground. It was lined with vervain so I couldn't get out. Three days ago they gave me some blood and I was too thirsty to question it. When Lexi would visit I would ask her why she was keeping me prisoner. All she had to say was that it would make sense soon."

Damon could only stare at his brother, but after a moment, he moved forward and brought his brother to him in a long overdue embrace. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you."

"It's okay. I understand what you were doing and why you were doing it."

When they stepped away from each other, Damon decided to tell him the bad news. "Katherine's dead. Elijah killed her."

"I know."

"You do?" Elena asked.

He nodded. "I was already in and out of consciousness because of the hunger, but I was jolted from that and my chest hurt. After the pain subsided I started thinking about Katherine and what she had done to us; how she destroyed us. Then I felt another kind of pain and the next thing I knew I was lying outside and my heart was beating."

Realizing there was nothing else to say, Damon reached for Elena's hand. "This is Elena. Elena, this is Stefan."

"I'm sorry about my actions," Stefan said to her.

She smiled warmly and nodded. "It's all in the past."

"What now?" Stefan asked.

"Now we should check on the others and see who we need to mourn," Damon suggested and they began walking through the remnants of battle to find their loved ones.

As they walked, Elena passed by the site where Katherine was killed and simply stared at the corpse as she walked by, a smile of victory on her lips. They found Elijah near the living quarters with Isobel, Alaric, and John. When they saw her, they began to run towards Elena and brought her to them for a giant hug. "I'm so happy you made it," Alaric said.

"My little warrior," John added with a smile.

Elena broke away from them and looked at Isobel who was struggling with the fact she was human again. Elena could tell by the way she was breathing. "I thought I lost you," she said and put her arms around her mother.

"I thought I was a gonner too," she replied and held her daughter close.

"Isobel?" Stefan's voice cut through the air. His tone was so full of surprise that it was clear to everyone he hadn't been told anything yet. "You're alive?"

She nodded. "I was never really dead, Stefan. I followed Damon one night and found that he had been keeping my daughter safe."

"Your what?"

"My daughter," she said, smiling at Elena.

"The night we found Isobel she had vervain on her. Before you and Katherine got there I saw Lexi and Isobel's family," Damon said, gesturing to the people around him. "Elena was only a baby then, but they were able to get away. When Katherine compelled the truth about children from her, Isobel was able to lie and I never told her the truth either. Years later I met Elena and I realized that she was Isobel's daughter when I saw how much she resembled Katherine."

"Elena was the one responsible for most of the attacks around Anna's," Isobel added.

Stefan raked a hand through his hair and saw the looks his brother and the doppelganger were exchanging. "Now I get it," he mumbled and smirked when Damon shot him a look.

Before Damon could say anything, Elijah made his way over to them and smiled when he saw they were all fine. "My family is human again, much to their dismay."

As Caroline, Tyler, Matt, Lexi, and the witches joined them everyone seemed to brighten up. Even all the death around them couldn't contain how elated they felt to know that they had won. They were free.

"Katherine had a vintage stash of champagne in the basement," Isobel said to break the silence. "I think our victory deserves a proper celebration."

"Agreed," Lexi said and reached down for Stefan's hand. "Shall we?"

And for the first time, the humans crossed what used to be the barrier without any fear of being caught.

* * *

><p>Damon woke to find that he was alone. He opened his eyes and looked around the room for where Elena had run off to. It was then that he noticed the doors to the balcony were open and the breeze ruffled the curtains as another sign. He smiled and got out of bed. He sighed as the cool breeze hit his skin, reveling in the way it made him feel. He moved towards Elena and pressed his front against her back before wrapping his arms around her. "I didn't mean to wake you," she said quietly.<p>

"I know, but I can't sleep when you're not next to me," he said, his breath tickling her ear.

She smiled and moved his hand down to her swollen belly. "I would be sleeping if it weren't for your child kicking up a storm."

Damon pressed a kiss to the side of her neck as he felt the baby kick from inside the womb. The sensation was something he had experienced before, but still held him in awe. He never thought he would see someone with child, let alone his child. "If it's anything like it's sister, then we have a bigger problem on our hands," he replied and turned her so that she was facing him.

She looped her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the locks of his hair. "Nadya was quite the fighter."

"That's because she takes after her mother," Damon replied and leaned in for a real kiss.

Elena pulled back with a smile on her face and turned away from him again. She loved coming out here at night and seeing people go about their lives without fear of having to hide. "The city is thriving."

"It has been a very busy five years," Damon replied, moving back to his original position behind her. "None of which would be possible without you."

"Without us," Elena corrected and then shook her head and leaned back against him. "I can't believe it's been that long already. Time is moving so quickly."

She felt him shake his head in disagreement. "I can't remember the last time life passed this slowly," he murmured against her skin. "But I wouldn't trade that for anything."

A smile touched her lips and she closed her eyes, the gentle breeze and the feel of Damon's arms around her lulling her to sleep. "I'm just glad a lot of you are really old and knew what humanity was like when it was humans walking the earth."

"Hey," Damon said playfully and smiled at the way she felt in his arms when she laughed.

"I love you," she whispered.

He had never been happier in his life and it was that moment that he forgave Katherine and everything that she had done to him. He was on good terms with his brother for the first time in centuries. He had fallen in love with a girl that loved him back and he had a family. Everything he ever wanted was now everything he had and he wouldn't trade any of what happened in the past.

"I love you too," he replied and closed his eyes again, a smile of pure happiness on his face.


End file.
